Chad man released from Guantanamo

Mohamed el-Gharani was arrested in Pakistan in 2001 (Photo: Reprieve)

A man who was 14 years old when detained by the US in Guantanamo Bay camp has been released after seven years, the Justice Department says.

Mohamed el-Gharani, arrested in Pakistan in October 2001, was sent to his home country of Chad.

In January, a US court had ordered his release because there was no evidence to prove he was an "enemy combatant".

An Iraqi national was also released, to Iraq, after both cases were reviewed as ordered by President Obama in January.

Al-Qaeda allegations

After Mr Gharani was arrested at a mosque, his lawyer said he was accused by the US of being a member of al-Qaeda in 1998, when he would have been only 11.

The US authorities had also alleged that Mr Gharani stayed at an al-Qaeda-affiliated guest house in Afghanistan, fought in the battle of Tora Bora following the US-led invasion, and served as a courier for senior al-Qaeda operatives.

The Iraqi national was named as Jawad Jabber Sadkhan, by the Justice Department.

US President Barack Obama has ordered the Guantanamo detention centre closed by early next year.