TEL AVIV, Israel, July 17 (UPI) -- Israeli authorities Sunday freed Arab Islamic leader Raed Salah, one day before his scheduled release after serving two-thirds of his sentence.
The prison authorities said they decided to release Salah, the head of the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, a day earlier to "ensure his safety and that of his supporters."
Islamic activists said hundreds of family members and supporters were planning to gather in front of the prison to greet him and accompany him back to his home in Umm al-Fahm Monday.
Salah was released on conditions that prevent him from leaving Israel, going to the Palestinian territories or contacting "hostile parties." He has also been banned from traveling to Jerusalem for the next four months.
Salah and four other Islamic leaders in northern Israel were arrested in May 2003; three were released earlier. With Salah's release, one remains in custody.
They were charged with membership in a "terrorist organization," conspiracy, money-laundering, falsifying official documents and "providing information to the enemy."
