Teenage inmate leaves Guantanamo

A US judge described the case against Mr Jawad as an "outrage"

One of the youngest detainees at the US detention centre in Guantanamo Bay has been released and sent home to his native Afghanistan, his lawyers say.

They said Mohammed Jawad was detained at 12 in 2002 and is now 19, although the Pentagon disputed his age.

Mr Jawad had been accused of injuring two US soldiers and their interpreter by throwing a grenade at their vehicle.

Much of the case against him had been ruled inadmissible by a US military judge in 2008.

Closure pledge

Mr Jawad's release was ordered last month by US District Court Judge Ellen Huvelle, who described the US government's case against him as "an outrage" that was "riddled with holes".

US government lawyers had said they were considering pursuing a criminal case against Mr Jawad, but no charges were filed.

"Jawad was released and returned to Afghanistan today, ending nearly seven years of illegal detention by the United States," his lawyer, Jonathan Hafetz, said on Monday.

US President Barack Obama has pledged to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay by January 2010.