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Spain agrees to accept 4 additional Guantanamo detainees

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] US Attorney General Eric Holder announced Thursday that Spain has agreed to resettle four detainees from the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. The four detainees are in addition to a Palestinian detainee transferred to Spain earlier this year. The governments have yet to decide which detainees will be transferred. Holder met with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero during his visit to Spain to discuss issues of counter-terrorism and combating international organized crime. Holder also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Prosecutor General Conde-Pumpido to strengthen the ability of law enforcement officials to work cooperatively within each others' countries. In February, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos initially agreed to accept five detainees after the government had previously agreed to accept only two detainees, one Yemeni and one Palestinian, in response to a June request by the Obama administration. Moratinos indicated that Spain was willing to increase the number of detainees accepted in order to help remedy what it sees as an unacceptable situation at the detention facility. Spain joins a growing list of countries that have recently accepted transfers, including Latvia, Switzerland, Slovakia, Algeria, Afghanistan, Palau , Bermuda, Albania, and Somaliland.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on April 08, 2010 (boomark / email).