Three of the Saudi women activists held in detention since May last year were granted temporary release on Thursday, state news agency SPA said, and sources familiar with the matter said the rest are set to be freed on Sunday.

Some of the women detained are facing charges related to human rights work and contacts with foreign journalists and diplomats,

"The court indicated that the temporary release was decided after it studied their requests submitted during the trial sessions," the SPA report said.

It said the court would continue to look into their cases and that the release was conditional on their attendance at their trials until a final decision is reached.

Informed sources said the three women released were blogger Eman al-Nafjan, Ruqayya al-Mohareb, and academic Aziza al-Yousef, who is in her 60s.

*This story was edited by Ahram Online