Five women's rights activists detained in China for a month have been released.
Wang Qiushi, a lawyer representing one of the five, Wei Tingting, told Sky News that she and Wang Man, Li Tingting, Wu Rongrong and Zheng Churan had been released without charge.
In a case that has attracted international attention, the five were detained just before International Women's Day on 8 March.
They were held by authorities at a Beijing detention centre for "causing a quarrel" after they had planned a public campaign to end sexual harassment.
Although no details were given for why they were detained, it appears they had been snared in what has become an unprecedented crackdown to suppress any form of protest in China.
But on Monday, Sky News was told that Ms Wei's mother received a call from Beijing police asking her to collect her daughter from a local station.
Speaking to Sky News by telephone, their lawyer, Mr Wang, said the women's release was conditional.
They will remain on bail for a year and will be required to report to their respective local police stations about their movements.
Their bail status indicates that the undisclosed case against them effectively remains open and they could be detained again at any point.
Mr Wang said: "This is a victory on this stage. Our next step is to try to see if the case will be cancelled completely, then they will regain their full freedom.
"I want to thank the whole world for the support. Their release can't be separated from the effort from all the feminist groups all around the world, all the politicians and organisations.
"I don't want to speculate what the authorities are thinking, and I can't possibly figure that out either, but their release, albeit under bail, suggests that there is still a bottom line here."
The unorthodox nature of their freeing, with lawyers not being informed and police unwilling to confirm anything, adds to what human rights groups say has been judicial farce of a case.
The detention of the five had prompted demands for their release by the US government, the EU and Britain.
At the weekend, US Secretary of State John Kerry added his voice, urging China to set about the "unconditional" release of the detainees.
This prompted China to lodge a formal complaint to the United States.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said America should "respect China's judicial sovereignty".
Government spokesman Hong Lei said: "China is a country of rule of law and runs the country according to the law. Everyone is equal before the law.
"China's legal authorities will handle this case in accordance with the law."
Two weeks ago, Sky News attempted, unsuccessfully, to confirm further details of the women's detention.
It was not possible to establish what specific crime they had committed or why two of them had been denied urgent medical treatment while in detention.
None of the women's activities could be constituted as being politically inflammatory but the Chinese government seems increasingly unwilling to tolerate any form of protest that could upset social stability - which in turn could destabilise the Communist rule.
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