World enews: Stuart Scheller: Marine who criticised Afghan withdrawal freed from military prison ahead of possible court-martial

Lt Col Stuart Scheller has been released from pre-trial confinement in a military prison as the US Marine Corps considers whether to charge him for criticising the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Mr Scheller was released shortly before facing a hearing on Tuesday at the North Carolina military base Camp Lejeune, a Marine Corps spokesman confirmed to The Independent. He said the release was a “mutual agreement” between Mr Scheller, his defence attorney and the US Marines.

Mr Scheller rose to national prominence after publicly criticizing the withdrawal of US troops, citizens and allies from Afghanistan, which left 13 Americans dead.

He was fired on 27 August after calling on his supporters to help him to “bring the whole f*cking system down”.

Despite a “gag order”, he continued to call for accountability from the US military’s leadership, including Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley, and announced his intentions to charge the head of US Central Command, General Kenneth McKenzie Jr, with “dereliction of duty”.

His supporters raised more than $2.5m in donations since he was taken into custody on 27 September, while more than two dozen Congressmembers formally wrote to the US Marine Corps Commander, General Berger, seeking his release.

His release came as the trial was delayed amid requests from media to make the hearing public, The Washington Times reported. The case has been closed to the public and members of the media requested a delay so they could object to the closed hearing in Federal court.

This is a developing story. It will be updated.