Azerbaijan on Sunday freed dozens of people considered political prisoners by European human rights bodies, including seven opposition leaders jailed after police smashed anti-government protests in late 2003. The pardons, announced by President Ilham Aliyev's office, were a key demand by delegates of the Council of Europe, the continent's top democracy watchdog, during a visit last week.
Aliyev's decree freed 115 people, of whom 53 were considered political prisoners by the Council of Europe - including three leaders of Musavat, the country's largest opposition party, and leaders of two other parties.
The Council of Europe said last week elections scheduled for November this year would only be free and fair if the opposition leaders were released.
Only a handful of opposition deputies sit in Azerbaijan's parliament after an internationally-condemned 2000 vote.
Aliyev took over the presidency from his father in October 2003 in the former Soviet Union's first dynastic succession. Opposition parties said the vote was rigged and staged mass protests in the capital Baku and elsewhere.