Serkan Gölge, a Turkish-American scientist imprisoned in Turkey for nearly three years, has been released, The Associated Press reported.
Morgan Ortagus, the US State Department spokesperson, welcomed the decision but declined to discuss why he was released.
However, she told reporters Wednesday it was the “right thing to do.”
Gölge was on a family visit in southern Turkey when he was arrested in the aftermath of a failed coup, which Turkey blames on US-based cleric Fethullah Gülen.
Gölge was convicted in February 2018 for membership in a terror group and sentenced to seven-and-a-half years, subsequently reduced to five by the appeals court.
His wife Kübra Gölge told The Associated Press that she spoke on the phone with him upon his release and that he was very happy.
Gölge denies links to the Gülen movement.