SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – The U.S. military said Thursday that it has sent a Guantanamo prisoner back to his native Algeria over the objections of his attorneys who said he feared being tortured in his homeland.

Saiid Farhi had been held without charge at the U.S. base in Cuba for nearly nine years. The Defense Department said in a statement that he had been released following a comprehensive legal and security review. A federal court in Washington had ordered his release in November 2009, finding that the government failed to prove he had become a member of al-Qaida or the Taliban.

Farhi feared returning to Algeria and his lawyers had filed a petition to the Supreme Court to block an involuntary transfer. Attorney David Remes criticized the government for not providing advance notice of the pending transfer so he could try to prevent it.

"This was a stealth transfer," he said.

His lawyers said they did not know whether the prisoner was in jail in Algeria and they hoped international attention would prevent any potential abuse.

The U.S. now holds 173 prisoners at Guantanamo.

President Barack Obama pledged to close the detention center shortly after his inauguration, but his efforts have been thwarted by Congress.