Samar Badawi and Nasima al-Sadah were arrested in August 2018 as part of the government’s crackdown on dissidents.

A rights organization confirmed that Saudi Arabia released two prominent women’s rights activists who had been detained for nearly three years.

“Human rights defenders Samar Badawi and Nasima al-Sadah have been released after their sentences expired,” ALQST for Human Rights said in a tweet on Sunday.

Breakthrough: Outstanding #Saudi Women’s rights defenders Samar Badawi and Nassima al-Sadah were released after their sentence expired. pic.twitter.com/m1qEPLvpuH

-ALQST Human Rights (@ALQST_En) June 27, 2021

These activists were arrested in August 2018 as part of the government’s expanded crackdown on peaceful dissidents at the time.

Most of the people in prison, There are estimated to be dozens, To fight for driving rights and end the kingdom’s male guardianship system, which requires women to obtain the consent of male relatives when making important decisions.

Badawi won the American International Women’s Courage Award in 2012 for challenging the guardianship system, and was one of the first women to sign a petition calling on the government to allow women to drive, vote, and campaign in local elections.

She is also the sister of the well-known human rights activist Raif Badawi, who was sentenced in 2014 for “insulting Islam” on her blog. Years in prison.

According to reports, outstanding Saudi human rights advocates released @samarbadawi15 with @ nasema33 This is the best news I have heard in some time, but they should not be sentenced to jail in the first place and justice/compensation should be obtained for their arbitrary detention. pic.twitter.com/XBKmexfjyv

-Adam Cooglea (@cooglea) June 27, 2021

Sadah of Cardiff province, where the Shiite majority came from, also campaigned for driving rights and abolishing the guardianship system. She was a candidate for the 2015 local elections, this is the first time a woman has participated in the election.

Her name was eventually deleted by the authorities.

Some of the women’s rights activists arrested in 2018 include Eman al-Nafjan, Lujain Hasluor, Aziza al-Yousef, Aisha al-Manea, Ibrahim Modeimigh and Mohammed al-Rabea.

Although the authorities overturned the decades-long ban on female driving, the Saudi authorities claimed that these activists had suspicious connections with foreign entities and provided financial support to “overseas enemies” to justify the arrest.