By Phil Mercer BBC correspondent in Sydney

The men had served as lieutenants to the coup leader, George Speight, now serving a life sentence for treason.

One, a former member of Britain's special forces, helped co-ordinate the storming of the Fijian parliament.

The uprising sent the South Pacific nation into chaos, with ministers held hostage at gunpoint for 56 days.

'Returning heroes'

Speight, a failed businessman, led the overthrow of the Indian-dominated government four years ago.

The coup in 2000 deeply divided the Pacific island along racial lines

His brother, James, was among those released from a prison island off the coast of the Fijian capital, Suva.

Former army major Josefa Savua and Ilisoni Ligairi, who once served with Britain's elite SAS unit, were also released.

Ligairi helped mastermind the assault on the parliament compound, which was carried out by disaffected members of Fiji's military.

The men were sentenced to three years in jail after treason charges against them were dropped and replaced by lesser offences, including kidnapping.

On their release, the men were greeted like returning heroes by a crowd of about 150 supporters in Suva.

Racial divisions

The rebels have always insisted the government of former Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry was ousted to protect the rights of indigenous Fijians, which they claimed were being eroded by the Indian-led administration.

Fiji remains a country clearly divided by race.

About 44% of the population are Indo-Fijians, ancestors of indentured labourers brought from India to work on colonial sugar plantations by the British.