'No information' on whether Khadr cleared for release: Harper

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Friday he doesn't know if Omar Khadr is among the 50 Guantanamo Bay detainees cleared for release by the U.S. government.

"I have no information to that," said Harper, who spoke to reporters following a funding announcement in Calgary.

The prime minister was asked about Khadr, a Canadian citizen, in the wake of U.S. President Barack Obama's announcement Thursday of his plans for the roughly 240 prisoners still being held at the American military base in Cuba.

Obama, who wants the prison closed by 2010, said his administration has reviewed the cases of 50 detainees who "can be transferred safely to another country."

"My administration is in ongoing discussions with a number of other countries about the transfer of detainees to their soil for detention and rehabilitation," he said.

Lt.-Cmdr. William Kuebler, Khadr's military lawyer, said Thursday he doesn't believe Khadr is on the list.

Khadr, now 22, has been at the Guantanamo Bay facility since 2002 when he was picked up by U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. He's alleged to have thrown a grenade that killed an American medic during a battle.

Earlier this month, the government appealed a Federal Court ruling compelling it to press for the Toronto-born Khadr's return.

Since 2002, more than 500 Guantanamo Bay detainees have been transferred to at least 30 nations to be prosecuted, rehabilitated or released.