The young Afghan Guantanamo detainee who has been recently released from the notorious detention facility intends to sue Washington over his "illegal detention".

The detainee's lawyer said Thursday Mohammed Jawad would sue the US government for holding him behind bars for seven years "without charges".

Jawad, 12 at the time of his detention in 2002, arrived in his hometown earlier this week after he was freed when American judges ruled that he had been coerced into confessing to a crime against US soldiers.

According to the US government account, the detainee had hurled a grenade at a US vehicle in the Afghan capital of Kabul that left injured two American soldiers and their interpreter.

The judge who ordered him released said the government's case was an "outrage" and "full of holes."

Jawad has maintained his innocence and described the case against him as fabricated. "I was an innocent child when they put me in prison."

His lawyers and family members say sleep deprivation and beatings were among the methods of torture he received at Guantanamo.

The US Justice Department nevertheless insists that Jawad's criminal dossier is still open. It maintains, however, that the young former detainee's transfer to Afghanistan makes it unlikely for US investigators to pursue his case.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who warmly received Jawad at his residence, denounced detentions at Gitmo.

"All cases of accused Afghans should be investigated by Afghans, inside the framework of Afghan rules and laws," Karzai said.

RB/AA