BRUSSELS, May 17 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) on Thursday welcomed the "long-overdue" pardon and release of Anwar Ibrahim, former Malaysian deputy prime minister.

"The pardon and release of Ibrahim... is welcome, long-overdue and has been consistently advocated by the European Union," a spokesperson of the European External Action Service (EEAS), the EU's foreign service, said in a statement.

"Anwar made a great personal sacrifice for his country's democracy and he is now free to participate fully in Malaysian politics," the spokesperson added.

Anwar, jailed for sodomy, was released on Wednesday after receiving a pardon from Muhammad V, the ceremonial head of state.

The full pardon also allows Anwar to return to politics.

Anwar was sacked as deputy prime minister in 1998 and later jailed for corruption and sodomy under then prime minister Mahathir Mohamad. He was jailed again in 2015 for sodomy as opposition leader.

Anwar has always denied the charges, saying they were politically motivated.

Since 2016, Mahathir and Anwar joined hands against the government led by Najib Razak. Their coalition, Pakatan Harapan, won the general election last week.

Mahathir, 92, has been sworn in as prime minister and he has promised to hand over to Anwar.