"After being held for more than two months, news of Dr. Kamal Sayid Qadir's release is a great relief and very good news for him and his family," Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik said in the statement.

The 48-year old lawyer of Kurdish origin was convicted on December 19 by a court in Arbil in the northern Iraqi region of Kurdistan for "defamation against the Kurdish government."

He had been arrested in October for writing articles criticising regional president Massud Barzani.

The human rights organization Reporters without Borders called for Qadir's release, saying "this incident bodes ill for freedom of expression in Iraq's Kurdish region."

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari informed Austrian special envoy to Iraq Gudrun Harrer Wednesday of the lawyer's release.

"This shows that the decision to have Austrian representation in Baghdad was right," Plassnik said.

With Harrer's presence on the ground since January 1, "we can effectively protect the interests of Austria and Austrian citizens," she added.