Afghans free American jailed for private prison

KABUL, Oct 1: Afghan authorities have released from jail an American imprisoned in 2004 for running a private jail and illegally detaining and torturing people in a freelance war on terror.

The American, Brent Bennett, was initially sentenced to 10 years in prison after he and two other Americans -- Jonathan ''Jack'' Idema and Edward Caraballo -- were found guilty.

An appeals court later cut their sentences. Bennett was released yesterday after completing two years of his three-year sentence, a prison official said.

''He was released from Pul-i-Charkhi prison and was flown out of the country,'' prison commander Abdul Qayoum said today.

Bennett, 29, former US soldier Idema and Caraballo were arrested in Kabul in 2004 after a shootout with security forces. Authorities found eight men in detention in their house.

Idema, 49, later insisted he was in Afghanistan with and Afghan government sanction to help track down al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and other militants, something Washington denied.

Caraballo, a 45-year-old film maker, was released in April.

He was initially sentenced to eight years in prison but his sentence had been cut to three.

Idema remained in detention at the Pul-i-Charkhi prison on the outskirts of Kabul. Qayoum said he had no idea when Idema, whose sentence had been cut to five years, might be freed.

REUTERS