Qanimat Zahid, an Azerbaijani opposition journalist jailed on
what supporters say were politically motivated charges, has received a presidential pardon,
RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reports.
Zahid, the editor in chief of
Azadliq newspaper, was jailed for four
years in 2007 on hooliganism charges.
Asked by a reporter for local ANS TV if he wished to convey a message to Azeri President Ilham Aliyev, Zahid, standing outside the prison gates, said, "Freedom is my right."
He was among some 70 people pardoned in conjunction with the annual Novruz holiday.
Click
here to see a video of his release.