London ? A British man on Pakistan’s death row for 18 years was freed Friday and returned home following an act of clemency by President Gen. Pervez Musharraf that was hailed by human rights groups.

Mirza Tahir Hussain, 36, emerged from a British Airways plane at Heathrow Airport just hours after being freed from prison and flown out of Pakistan.

Hussain, who faced death by hanging after being convicted of murdering a taxi driver in 1988, maintains he was defending himself from an armed sexual assault when Jamshed Khan was shot to death.

On Wednesday, Musharraf ordered Hussain’s death sentence commuted to life behind bars, which under Pakistan’s sentencing rules equates to 14 years, meaning that he has served his time, the president’s office said.