Two Saudi women who were detained after flouting a driving ban in the Kingdom have been released from prison, it has been reported.
Loujain al-Hathloul, 25, and Maysaa al-Amoudi, 33, were arrested by police and referred to a terrorism court in the capital of Riyadh in December, according to activists.
Ms al-Hathloul was arrested when she attempted to drive from United Arab Emirates (UAE) into Saudi Arabia and Ms al-Amoudi was subsequently detained when she went to the border to support her, the BBC reports.
Women are prohibited from driving and must be accompanied by a male chaperone at all times when they travel.
The pair were reportedly referred to the terror court because of their posts on social media. Ms al-Hathloul, who has a large social media following, had been tweeting about her journey before the arrest.
An activist who claimed to have spoken with Ms al-Hathloul after her release told AFP: “Yes, Loujain is free.” It is not yet clear if they will still face criminal charges.
The first tweet on Ms al-Hathloul's Twitter account since her arrest on 1 December was posted yesterday.
Reports of their release have not been officially confirmed by the Saudi government.
The news comes after Prince Charles raised the case of Saudi blogger Raif Badawi during his first formal meeting with Saudi Arabia’s new King. Badawi was sentenced to 1,000 lashes and ten years in prison for running a liberal forum website and for being convicted of “insulting Islam”.
Charles had been under pressure to raise concerns over human rights in the Arab state by campaigners in the UK.
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