From Voice of America

Three Saudi women’s rights activists have been temporarily released after 10 months in prison, sources familiar with the case told The Associated Press on Thursday.

Two people told the AP on Thursday that Aziza al-Yousef, a grandmother and former professor; Eman al-Nafjan, a mother of four and linguistics professor, and a third woman were released and at least one of the women was home with her family.

The releases came a day after nearly a dozen Saudi women’s rights activists appeared before a three-judge panel in a Riyadh courtroom and laid out their defense. They also spoke of physical and sexual abuse they say they were subjected to by masked interrogators.

This is the first time they have been released from detention since May of last year.

The women, who appeared Wednesday in their second court session since their arrests in May, had long pushed for the right to drive and called for an end to restrictive male guardianship laws. The laws require women of all ages to have a male relative’s consent to travel abroad, obtain a passport, marry or undergo certain medical procedures.