Half a dozen European countries are considering resettling detainees from the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba as a gesture to the incoming Obama administration, the Washington Post reported today.
Citing senior European and US officials, the newspaper said European officials have put out tentative feelers to president-elect Barack Obama's team.
But Obama advisers said they could only discuss the issue after the January 20th inauguration.
Guantanamo has about 250 detainees including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, accused of masterminding the September 11th attacks. The prison has come to symbolise aggressive interrogation practices that opened the United States up to allegations of torture.
Mr Obama has pledged to close Guantanamo.
Only Germany and Portugal have acknowledged publicly that they are considering resettling the detainees, the newspaper said.
European nations refused repeated requests from the Bush administration to accept Guantanamo detainees, it added.
Reuters