Two crewmen who have agreed to stay in Hawai'i and testify at trial for the government were released to the community under the same restrictions as four of their shipmates released last week.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin S.C. Chang ordered that the remaining 24 crewmen from the fishing boat Full Means 2 be turned over to the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service to prepare them for their return home to China.

Immigration officials have indicated the crewmen are likely to be headed home by Friday, assistant U.S. Attorney Loretta Sheehan said.

"All the parties are motivated to get these guys home," Sheehan said.

In all, 30 crewmen had been held since late March for questioning in the case of Shi Lei, the 21-year-old cook accused of killing the captain and first mate in international waters and then taking control of the ship.

Crew members later regained control and set sail for Hawaii, where federal authorities seized the ship and arrested Shi on March 21.

The captain's body was thrown overboard, while the first mate's body was found in a freezer aboard the ship, authorities said.

Shi has pleaded innocent. His trial is scheduled for Sept. 4, but attorneys have said they expect the date to be pushed back over procedural matters, including a review by Attorney General John Ashcroft to determine whether the death penalty is warranted in the case.

The crewmen, meanwhile, have been held at the federal detention center on Oahu while attorneys completed videotaped depositions.

But attorneys who hope to have live witnesses in addition to videotaped testimony have sought to keep some crewmen in Hawaii out of concern they may be unable to have them returned from China once trial begins.

The six crewmen released to the community have agreed to testify for the government at trial and have received special immigration status that requires them to stay in Hawaii.

The U.S. Attorneys office has provided $450 in assistance while members of Honolulu's Chinese community have offered temporary housing, translators and job interviews, Sheehan said.

Meanwhile, Shi's federal public defender Pamela Byrne said she hopes to have two crewmen testify on her client's behalf and she is working with immigration officials and members of the Chinese community to provide for their stay in Hawaii until trial.

Byrne has said Shi has a strong defense, but she has not elaborated.