A defence lawyer for two former detainees at Guantanamo Bay who were returned home to Algeria to face charges of links to terrorism said they have been acquitted by a court.

Abdelli Faghoul and Terari Mohamed had admitted in court to links with the illegal drug underworld, but denied any connection to foreign terrorist groups, defence lawyer Farid Abbache said.

The two men were released from Guantanamo and handed over to Algerian authorities on August 15, 2008 - nearly seven years after they were taken into custody and held without trial, the lawyer said.

The defendants travelled to Afghanistan after a decade in Germany, where they were involved in theft and the illegal drugs trade, Mr Abbache said.

PA Media