Saudi women’s rights campaigners ‘freed from prison’

Riyadh: Two Saudi women’s rights activists, one of whom tried to defy a ban on female driving, have been freed after more than two months in jail, a campaigner said on Friday.

“Yes, Loujain is free,” said the campaigner who spoke with Loujain Hathloul after she left prison.

Loujain “just said that she’s [been] released and she’s happy”, said the activist, who did not give a name.

Maysaa Alamoudi, detained at the same time as Loujain, has also been let out of jail, her family confirmed, according to the activist.

“Peace be upon you, good people,” Loujain tweeted late on Thursday.

She and Maysaa had been held since December 1, after Loujain tried to drive into the kingdom from neighbouring UAE in defiance of the ban.

Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world which does not allow women to drive.

Maysaa, a UAE-based Saudi journalist, arrived at the border to support Loujain and was also arrested.

In December, activists said a court in Eastern Province had transferred the two women to a special tribunal for “terrorism” cases.

At the time, campaigners did not provide full details of the allegations against the pair, but said investigations appeared to focus on the women’s social media activities rather than the driving.

The activist did not know whether the two women were facing charges or what conditions were placed on their release.

Loujain has 232,000 followers on Twitter.

Before her arrest she tweeted, sometimes with humour, details of the 24 hours she spent waiting to cross into Saudi Arabia after border officers stopped her. Maysaa has 136,000 followers and has also hosted a programme on YouTube discussing the driving ban.