Stewart, 74, has been serving a 10-year sentence over her2005 conviction for helping a client, blind Egyptian clericSheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, smuggle messages from prison toEgypt's Islamic Group, which the US government had listed as aterrorist organization.
Earlier this year, Stewart asked US District Judge JohnKoeltl in Manhattan for early release under a Federal Bureau ofPrisons program for terminally ill inmates.
Koeltl, who in August had denied the request, noting thatthe Bureau of Prisons had not supported it, on Tuesday grantedthe request, following a recommendation for release from theBureau of Prisons and the US attorney in Manhattan. Koeltlreduced Stewart's sentence to the time she has already servedand ordered Stewart released as soon as her medical conditionpermits, according to a court filing.