The European Union has welcomed the pardoning of over 400 people in Azerbaijan, European External Action Service reports.
According to the message, the European Union expects that further similar steps will follow in future in line with Azerbaijan's international commitments.
The EU will continue its engagement with Azerbaijan to step up the cooperation, including on human rights, which constitutes an essential element of EU-Azerbaijan relationship.
Total of 431 people were pardoned under the Amnesty Act.
399 convicted were released ahead of time. In addition, the sentence of one of the three lifers was replaced with 25 years in prison and the rest to 20 years. 11 people under suspended sentence were released.