International Criminal Court judges said Wednesday that former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo should be released, a day after acquitting him of crimes against humanity.
Head judge Cuno Tarfusser said the court "rejects the prosecution request to maintain them in detention", referring to Gbagbo and his right-hand man Charles Ble Goude.
ICC prosecutors had asked for the Ivorian pair to be kept in detention pending an appeal against Tuesday's decision to clear them of charges of crimes against humanity.
However the judges said that the "exceptionally weak" prosecution evidence in the trial, and the lack of proof that the pair would flee justice if asked to return to the court, meant there were no special circumstances that could justify keeping them behind bars.
Tarfusser ordered court officials to "obtain the necessary assurances... in ensuring the return of Mr Gbagbo and Mr Ble Goude if and when their presence at the seat of the court is requested".
It remained unclear how soon Gbagbo and Ble Goude would be freed from the ICC's detention centre in The Hague.
In previous cases it has taken days to make full arrangements for the release of acquitted suspects.
Gbagbo and Ble Goude were charged over a wave of post-electoral violence in 2010-11 in which around 3,000 people died, after Gbagbo refused to accept defeat at the hands of now-president Alassane Outtara.