The government is preparing to allow a number of Guantanamo Bay prisoners to settle in Germany as the US slowly closes the jail in Cuba and releases those held there not considered a threat.

A German delegation visited Guantanamo last week to meet the prisoners who might come to Germany after their release, Der Spiegel magazine reported over the weekend.

The delegation included officials from the Interior Ministry, the federal criminal police and the immigration office. They are said to have wanted to meet the prisoners to make an assessment of their needs and to make a risk prognosis.

US special envoy Daniel Fried gave a list of nine names to the German Interior Ministry at the end of last year. Secret talks have been held during the months since then to discuss how the men might be accommodated in Germany, and under what conditions.

Der Spiegel reports that of the original nine prisoners, several have already been accepted by other countries and released, leaving what it calls a handful remaining who would come to Germany.

http://www.thelocal.de/national/20100328-26167.html