Edit by... Yousef Gouda

Following a months - long court battle, lawyers for Michael Taylor, a veteran of the US Army Special Forces, fought to avoid their transfer to Japan to face charges of helping a branch flee Japan to Lebanon in a box.

On a private plane before arriving in Lebanon where he spent his childhood, he did not conclude an extradition treaty with Japan.

Taylor and his son's lawyers said Japanese prosecutors received his clients in Tokyo after they were deported from the United States.

The United States Supreme Court paved the way last month for the extradition of the two men who have been detained in the United States since their arrest in May.

Their lawyers said in a statement: "This is a sad day for the family and for all those who believe that veterans deserve better treatment than their homeland."

The United States Departments of Justice and Foreign Affairs declined to comment. The Tokyo District Prosecutor's Office, which will handle the case, has also been reluctant to comment.

The two men will not be charged immediately, but will most likely be indicted at the conclusion of investigations in Japan.

Japanese prosecutors did not disclose where the two men would be detained. They could be placed in the Tokyo Detention Centre, where a branch was held after his arrest.