Two Canadian women sentenced to 40 lashes each in the breakaway republic of Somaliland after being convicted of consuming alcohol have been released from prison, Canadian media reports.
The government's Global Affairs Canada department is quoted as saying that it is aware of their release and is providing them with consular assistance.
Maymona Abdi, 28, and Karima Watts, 23, were detained more than three months ago after police entered a house in Somaliland's capital, Hargeisa.
They were sentenced to two-and-a-half months in prison and 40 lashes each after being convicted of drinking alcohol, which is forbidden in Somaliland. The women denied the charge, Canada's The Globe and Mail newspaper reported.
Somaliland human rights lawyer Guleid Ahmed Jama told the newspaper that the women had been released, without being lashed.
The prosecution had also dropped its appeal for a harsher sentence, he was quoted as saying.
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