Brent Bennett listens to his sentence at the court in Kabul, Afghanistan (File photo - Sept. 15, 2004)

Afghan officials have released an American imprisoned in 2004 for running a private jail.

After serving more than two years of a three-year sentence, Brent Bennett was freed and flown out of Afghanistan on Saturday.

Bennett was one of three Americans convicted of torturing Afghan suspects in a vigilante counter-terrorism operation.

In September 2004, a Kabul court sentenced one of three, Edwin Caraballo, to eight years in prison while Bennett and alleged ringleader Jonathan Idema received 10-year terms. In March 2005, a judge, Abdul Latif, reduced their sentences.

Caraballo was released in April, while Idema has about three years remaining on his reduced sentence.

Idema claimed his operations were coordinated with the U.S. Defense Department and Afghan authorities. Both governments denied the claim.