Spain has taken its first inmate from the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay while Albania has accepted three ex-inmates, officials said on Wednesday.

Albania's Interior Ministry said it had agreed to take former Guantanamo prisoners Saleh bin Hadi Asasi of Tunisia, Fati Ali al Mishad, an Egyptian national, and Libyan Abdul Rauf Omar Mohammad Abu al Qusin.

Spain said it had accepted a unidentified man of Palestinian origin, who arrived on Wednesday morning.

"These transfers were carried out on the basis of an agreement between the government of the United States of America and the Albanian government," the Albanian Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Albania in the past accepted five Chinese Uighurs from Guantanamo.

The Ministry said both governments would consult on how to settle the former inmates.

Spain's Interior Minister Alfredo Rubalcaba told reporters that the Palestinian man would be given a residency permit and would be allowed to work.

"For obvious reasons we are not going to give any more information other than that the person who has arrived in Spain is a Palestinian national," Rubalcaba said, adding that the former inmate has no outstanding criminal charges in the United States, Europe or in his country of origin.

"We want those inmates who come to Spain to be able to live their lives. We want to respect his privacy to the utmost so he can rebuild his life in Spain," he said.

The Albanian ministry statement said 11 ex-inmates in total had been transferred to Albania, which means an earlier arrival of three inmates was not previously announced.

An official contacted by Reuters did not offer further information, saying only the figure of those transferred was correct. Of the five Uighurs, one has left for a Scandinavian country while the others have settled in Albania.

Obama promised to close the widely criticised jail set up by his predecessor, George W. Bush, during his first year in office, but the deadline already passed in January.


Agencies