Two prominent Syrian opposition legislators were released from jail on Wednesday as the regime in Damascus tried to rally domestic support in the face of international pressure.

Riad Seif and Ma’mun Homsi had been arrested in 2001 during a clampdown by the Syrian authorities on political forums that had flourished in the the short-lived “Damascus Spring”. Mr Seif and Mr Homsi, released with three other activists, had been charged with “trying to change the constitution through illegal means” and accused of incitement to sectarian strife.