Berlin Expected to Reject Guantanamo Prisoners

BERLIN, June 15, 2009 — -- A Guantanamo Bay inmate said he wants to live in Germany because he has "good memories" of the country. So far, though, Germany's Interior Ministry has no plans to accept a request from Washington to take two prisoners. Berlin fears the men, who allegedy trained at terror camps, could be dangerous.

Europe initially cheered President Obama's pledge to close down the prison camp at Guantanamo which, for many, had come to represent the disrespect for human rights of the George W. Bush era. But when it comes to the thorny question of where the Guantanamo prisoners can resettle, the enthusiasm has faded.

Officials in the Czech Republic, currently the rotating president of the European Union, said earlier this month that the 27-nation bloc might admit "several dozen" prisoners, with decisions being left to each country. Germany, however, is digging its heels in. SPIEGEL reported over the weekend that, after reviewing information supplied about the former terror suspects by U.S. officials, the German Interior Ministry has ruled out for the time being the possibility of taking in the men out of concern they might be dangerous. The German government, however, still hasn't officially responded to the request to resettle the Syrian and Tunisian.

Meanwhile, U.S. pressure for cooperation is running high and within Germany the discussion rolls on. The Financial Times Deutschland reported Monday that the Tunisian Guantanamo inmate Rafiq Bin Bashir al-Hami hopes to return to the country. "He has good memories of his times in Germany," his lawyer Mark Denbeaux told the newspaper.

Hami reportedly lived in Germany under a false name between 1996 and 1999. During that time he said he worked for a restaurant and a cleaning company. A report in the newsweekly Focus claims he was known to the authorities in Frankfurt for drug crimes and attempted fraud in an asylum application.