E.U. to take Gitmo detainees?

Last week’s decision by U.S. President Barack Obama to close the Guantanamo Bay prison within a year and to repudiate the use of torture were welcome gestures. Yet the orders raise many questions including where will detainees go once Gitmo closes.

The possible destination of Gitmo detainees was one of the topics discussed during a meeting of European Union (E.U.) leaders earlier today. Most of the foreign ministers from the 27-nation bloc agreed that E.U. nations should take in some sixty prisoners originally from countries like China, Algeria, and Saudi Arabia. Yet officials also requested that any detainees taken by the E.U. pose no significant security risk:

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Britain had its plate full in dealing with its own nationals in U.S. custody and ruled out taking ex-prisoners from other nations…

Finland's foreign minister, Alexander Stubb, said Guantanamo inmates would become eligible for resettlement only once they passed through U.S. scrutiny and courts and were granted official status as political refugees.

Malaysian officials reportedly expressed interest over the weekend to house two of its citizens currently being held at Guantanamo.

Image- BBC News
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, Fox News, AP, Reuters, New York Times