Washington  - One of the youngest detainees at the US prison facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was released Monday to his home country of Afghanistan, his lawyers said.

Mohammed Jawad, who is believed to be in his early 20s, was released after nearly seven years in US custody. He was captured as a teenager in Afghanistan in 2002, accused of throwing a grenade at two US soldiers.

A US federal judge ordered the Justice Department to release him last month and the government was given until Monday to respond. His lawyers said he had been tortured while in detention.

"We are so pleased that this nightmare of abuse and injustice has finally come to an end," said Jonathan Hafetz, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union who represented Jawad.

Jawad is the latest prisoner to leave the controversial facility, which President Barack Obama has directed be closed by the end of the year. More than 200 detainees remain locked up there. (dpa)