Two Chinese women who had participated in the historic “white paper” protests in Beijing demanding an end to the measures against COVID-19 were released on Wednesday after nearly four months in detention, two of their friends told Reuters.

These unprecedented demonstrations in President Xi Jinping’s ten-year term began at the end of November in cities across China.

They were suppressed by police within days, but helped speed up the end of a three-year-long crackdown, sources told Reuters.

In the immediate aftermath of the protests, which saw hundreds of citizens take to the country’s streets – many holding white papers as a sign of their displeasure – police arrested and questioned dozens of people, according to human rights groups, lawyers and friends of the people.

A lotwere detained only for 24 hours or less and others were released after a few weeks.

Cao Zixin, a 26-year-old publisher, and Zhai Dengrui, a 27-year-old teacher, were released yesterday, according to two of their friends.

The Ministry of Public Security and the Beijing Public Security Agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Human Rights Watch had reported that the two women were among four protesters arrested in December and charged with “causing tension and trouble,” a charge that carries up to five years in prison.

Shortly before she was arrested, Cao had made a video of herself asking for help. This was later made public by her friends and circulated widely on the internet.

In it, the woman mentions that many of her friends who participated in the protests they had been arrested by the police.

Other protesters have remained silent for fear of government reprisals, but some have rallied against Chinese political repression during the mostly peaceful protests.