Annette Auguste. AFP FILE PHOTO/THONY BELIZAIRE

Criminal court magistrate Fritzner Fils-Aime issued the release order late on Monday for Annette Auguste, known as So Ann and jailed for more than two years, and three other prisoners, after deciding there was no proof they were linked to violence.

Auguste, 62, and the three others were militants of the Lavalas Family party of Aristide, a priest turned politician who fled his impoverished Caribbean nation in 2004 in the face of an armed rebellion.

They were arrested over an outbreak of violence at a university and the wounding of its dean but no evidence was produced, as in the cases of many other former Aristide allies jailed during the U.S.-backed interim administration of prime minister Gerard Latortue.

"There has been no evidence linking those people to these incidents," said Judge Fils-Aime.

About a dozen prominent Aristide allies -- including former Prime Minister Yvon Neptune and former Interior Minister Jocelerme Privert -- have been freed since President Rene Preval took over from the interim government in May.

"The interim government and its allies had locked me up because they were aware of my capacity to mobilize the masses," Auguste told Reuters.

"They wanted to make sure I did not play any political role that could benefit Aristide. As a brave woman, I confronted that injustice with courage, but it feels good to be free again," she said.

The three other Aristide militants released along with Auguste were Paul Raymond Jr., Yvon Antoine and George Honore.

Preval, a former Aristide ally, said recently that about 100 Aristide allies had been released since he took office.

But Auguste said hundreds more were still being held.