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\"She was a powerful advocate for women's rights and releasing her was the right thing to do,\" President Biden said on Wednesday.

On Dec. 28, 2020, more than two years after her arrest, al-Hathloul was sentenced to over five years in jail in Specialized Criminal Court for “spying with foreign parties” and “conspiring against the Kingdom,” but part of the sentence was backdated to the time of her arrest.

\"FILE
Handout/Reuters
FILE PHOTO: Saudi women's rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul is seen in this undated handout picture.
>

\"We welcome the news that Saudi activist Loujain al-Hathloul has been released from prison and has reunited with her family,” Ned Price, the spokesperson for the State Department, said in a statement. “We encourage Saudi Arabia to continue legal and policy reforms that respect the rights of women, girls, and all people.”

Human rights organizations have warned, however, that while al-Hathloul is out of prison, she is not yet free.

The activist remains banned from talking to the media, she may not leave the Kingdom and Saudi authorities retain the right to re-arrest her at any time, campaigners for her release said.

“Loujain al-Hathloul’s wrongful imprisonment has ended, but she’s still not free,” Adam Coogle, the deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. “With al-Hathloul banned from travel and threatened with more prison time if she does not stay silent, her ordeal remains a flagrant miscarriage of justice.”

Taha al-Hajj, a lawyer from European-Saudi Organisation for Human Rights, told ABC News that al-Hathloul is still \"under sentence.\"

\"In addition, Loujain is demanding an investigation and accountability for her who tortured, insulted, and defamed her and arbitrarily arrested her, but the government ignores her request,\" he said. \"Loujain's case has not ended yet.\"

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