Two women who spent months in jail for defying Saudi Arabia's ban on female drivers were released from prison on Thursday.
Loujain al-Hathloul, 25, and Maysa al-Amoudi, 33, were both arrested in November for driving into Saudi Arabia from the United Arab Emirates.
While the conditions of their release are still unknown, concern had been growing for the woman after reports surfaced that they may face terrorism charges.
2 activists fighting Saudi driving ban finally freed. Should never have been in jail at all. http://t.co/n1qPupSqx9 pic.twitter.com/eefrvh3PVt— Andrew Stroehlein (@astroehlein) February 13, 2015
The two women posted messages to their social media accounts on Thursday after more than 70 days in detention, confirming their release.
Al-Amoudi posted a celebratory image to her Instagram account after her release with the message, "praise be to Allah." After her release from prison, al-Hathloul posted a simple hello to her hundreds of thousands of Facebook followers.
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At the time of their arrest, Human Rights Watch had denounced the women's detention.
“After years of false promises to end its absurd restrictions on women, Saudi authorities are still arresting them just for getting behind the wheel,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW's Middle East and North Africa director, in a statement. “The Saudi government’s degrading restrictions on women are what bring shame to the country, not the brave activists standing up for their rights.”
2 female drivers Loujain al-Hathloul + Maysaa al-Amoudi released after December arrest in #SaudiArabia. Terms of release currently unknown.— Sunjeev Bery (@SunjeevBery) February 13, 2015
On Nov. 30, al-Hathloul described being detained at the Saudi Arabian border in a Facebook post, saying she was denied entry back into the UAE "because I'm a woman driving my own car with a valid UAE driver's license which, according to the GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council], allows me to legally drive in Saudi Arabia."
Her friend al-Amoudi, a Saudi journalist, arrived at the border the next day with food, water and a blanket to bring to al-Hathloul, before she too was detained on Saudi side of the al-Batha border crossing. Both women had been vocal supporters of an anti-driving ban protest that staged actions across Saudi Arabia beginning in October 2013.
An informal prohibition on female drivers in Saudi Arabia became official policy in 1990. In 2005, however, the now-deceased King Abdullah said he planned to change those laws. He died in January without doing so.
It is unclear where his successor King Salman stands on the issue or if changes in the policy may come to the country.