Two American cruise ship passengers jailed for attacking a fellow tourist were released from Westgate Correctional Facility at the start of December, according to their lawyer.

Michael Donovan and Joseph Pontieri were sent down for 90 days on October 6 last year after pleading guilty to causing grievous bodily harm to Christopher Emanuel, 38, in an attack on Front Street, Hamilton.

The case hit the headlines here and in the States with scores of readers writing to The Royal Gazette in support of the sentence dished out by Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner.

Lawyer Llewellyn Peniston said the pair were released on December 4 and had returned to the US after serving two-thirds of their jail term.