Madrid, Feb 24 (DPA) An inmate from the US detention facility in Guantanamo, Cuba, arrived Wednesday in Spain, Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said.
The Palestinian was the first of among up to five inmates Spain has accepted to receive in an attempt to help US President Barack Obama close the prison camp.
The prisoner was due to be transported on board a US military plane, which would make a stopover in another European country to leave another prisoner there, the daily El Periodico de Catalunya quoted official sources as saying.
The Palestinian from Gaza had lived in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, where he was detained and handed over to the US, Palestinian officials said earlier.
Rubalcaba said the government would not give details on the man in order to facilitate his integration into Spanish society.
He would get a residence permit, the possibility to work and freedom of movement in Spain, though Guantanamo prisoners taken by European countries could not leave those countries, Rubalcaba explained.
Spain only accepted prisoners with no criminal charges in the European Union, the United States or their countries of origin, the minister said.
Other Guantanamo inmates were also expected to arrive in Spain shortly, Periodico said. They were believed to include a Syrian and a Yemeni citizen.
The prisoners will be placed under surveillance not only to protect the Spanish public, but also to protect the individuals from eventual al-Qaeda reprisals over their possible revelations to US intelligence services, according to the daily.
The inmates were to be placed in different locations under the care of NGOs.
Spain is among the European countries to accept the most prisoners from Guantanamo, which still has nearly 200 inmates despite the official deadline for its closure having passed in January.
The Spanish EU presidency has encouraged EU countries to take detainees from the prison camp.
Spanish-US relations have improved after cooling under Obama’s predecessor George W Bush, who was angered by Spain’s decision to recall its troops from Iraq.
