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A federal judge on Tuesday released an immigrant whose terrorism conviction had been thrown out and sent him to a halfway house, the latest chapter in the dissolution of the government's prosecution of what it once called a "sleeper operational combat cell" based here. "I am innocent," said the immigrant, Karim Koubriti, a 26-year-old Moroccan, in an interview shortly after the judge, Gerald A. Rosen, said he would not have to return to prison. "I always say I was innocent. Three years ago I said I was innocent and nobody believed me except these guys," he said, referring to his lawyers. Mr. Koubriti was one of four Arab immigrants accused by the government of forming a terrorism cell based in Detroit. He and another defendant were convicted last year of material support of terrorism and document fraud charges. A third man was convicted of document fraud and a fourth was acquitted. Last month, however, Judge Rosen threw out the convictions after an extraordinary request by the government to do so. [more

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