New York: India-born student Dharun Ravi was released from a US prison on Tuesday after he completed 20 days of his month-long jail term following his conviction for spying on his gay roommate, but will not be deported to his native country India.
A bearded and smiling Ravi, 20, was escorted out of the Middlesex County jail by his lawyer Steve Altman after his release at 8:35 am (local time).
The former Rutgers University student was convicted on charges of bias intimidation and invasion of privacy for spying on his gay roommate, who later committed suicide.
Ravi was wearing a dark blue T-shirt and khaki pants and headed straight toward Altman's car with neither of the two talking to the media.
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement said earlier that Ravi would not be deported to India after taking into account his record.
"Based on a review of Ravi's criminal record, ICE is not initiating removal proceedings at this time," the ICE's Office of Public Affairs said in an emailed statement.
Ravi's release comes a day after the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement said he would not be deported to India once he his released from prison.
Ravi shaved off 10 days from his month long sentence by getting five days credit for good behaviour and a similar number for working in prison.
Ravi had been sentenced to a 30 days in jail, three years' of supervised release, ordered to do 300 hours of community service and pay a fine of about USD 11,000 after he was convicted in March this year of using a webcam to spy on the sexual encounters of his roommate Tyler Clementi in September 2010.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, June 19, 2012, 10:17