The United States expects to soon begin releasing some detainees from its Guantanamo prison into the hands of French authorities, Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Thursday.
Seven French nationals are among around 600 people held at the camp in Cuba because Washington suspects they are members of al Qaeda and Afghanistan’s former ruling Taliban militia.
The U.S., which has held the detainees caught abroad in its “war on terrorism” at the Guantanamo U.S. naval base in Cuba, has already handed over some prisoners to countries such as Britain and Denmark.
“As we examine each of these cases, get as much intelligence information as we can from these individuals and as we can make arrangements with the country of origin, their home country, to return them, then we are returning them,” Powell said in answer to a question from students.
“I expect action on the French detainees in the very near future.”