Negotiations about the transfer, and about any security guarantees, would likely "take some time," he said.

According to the group Human Rights Watch, the five are:

-- Abdennour Sameur, a 34-year-old Algerian given refugee status in the United Kingdom in 2000; held at Guantanamo since 2002;

-- Binyam Mohammad, a 29-year-old Ethiopian who sought asylum in the United Kingdom in 1994 and was given leave to remain; rendered by the CIA to Morocco where he was held for 18 months and reportedly tortured, before transfer to Guantanamo in 2004;

-- Jamil el-Banna, a Jordanian granted refugee status in the United Kingdom in 1997; arrested in 2002 in Gambia and held at a CIA facility in Afghanistan, where he was reportedly tortured, then sent to Guantanamo in 2003.

-- Shaker Aamer, a 39-year-old born in Saudi Arabia, had lived in Britain since 1996, and is married with four British children; arrested and initially held in Afghanistan, transferred to Guantanamo in 2002.

-- Omar Deghayes, a 36-year-old Libyan granted refugee status in the United Kingdom in 1987; arrested in Pakistan and sent to Guantanamo in 2002.

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Shaun Waterman, UPI Homeland and National Security Editor