Guantanamo closure 'not imminent'

Some prisoners have been held without charge for five years

The White House has denied reports in the US media that the closure of the US prison camp at Guantanamo Bay could be announced imminently.

However, officials say discussions are continuing on what to do with about 375 detainees currently held there and how to resolve outstanding legal issues.

The White House has said it hopes to close the facility as soon as possible.

An important meeting on the issue was scheduled for Friday but was apparently postponed following the media leak.

The Associated Press news agency reported on Thursday that officials were saying a consensus on the prison's closure was near and would be discussed at Friday's meeting.

Human rights group Amnesty International responded to the news by renewing its call for the US government to close the Guantanamo prison camp immediately.

Many of the prisoners at the facility have been held without charge for more than five years.

Steps to be taken

Commenting on the reports, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said: "The president has long expressed a desire to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility and to do so in a responsible manner."

The administration says it wants to close Guantanamo when possible

But, she added: "A number of steps need to take place before that can happen, such as setting up military commissions and the repatriation to their home countries of detainees who have been cleared for release."

How long it will take for these steps to be carried out is not yet known.

The Bush administration has already been sending back some prisoners to their country of origin.

Reporters at a White House press briefing on Friday were told that "several dozen" Afghan detainees would be heading back to Afghanistan shortly. It was unclear who would run the prison to which they are sent.

Discussions are also under way with third party countries who may take Guantanamo detainees, the White House said.

The administration is also looking at how to bring some detainees into the US legal system.

The Supreme Court in 2004 and 2006 opposed the Bush administration's position on the legal rights of Guantanamo Bay prisoners.

Belief 'shaken'

Earlier this month, former US Secretary of State Colin Powell added his voice to those urging the immediate closure of the Guantanamo facility.

"Essentially, we have shaken the belief the world had in America's justice system by keeping a place like Guantanamo open and creating things like the military commission," he told US television network NBC.

The high-security prison was opened by the US government in 2002 to hold foreign terror suspects captured during the war against the Afghan Taleban and al-Qaeda.

The inmates, regarded as "enemy combatants", are not given the same rights as prisoners-of-war and normal US court rules do not apply.

Many countries have called for the camp to be closed.