Beijing ( CNN ) Chinese police on Monday released five female activists who were detained last month , family and friends of the women tell CNN . Wei Tingting , Wang Man , Zheng Churan , Li Tingting and Wu Rongrong were freed . The women will be under police surveillance for a year and have their movements and activities restricted , attorney Liang Xiaojun said . Police can summon the women for questioning at any time , he added . The five members of China 's Women 's Rights Action Group were detained in Beijing , Guangzhou and Hangzhou a few days before events planned for International Women 's Day on March 8 . The United States had urged China to free them , and the international community harshly criticized keeping the women in custody . `` Each and every one of us has the right to speak out against sexual harassment and the many other injustices that millions of women and girls suffer around the world , '' U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement Friday . `` We strongly support the efforts of these activists to make progress on these challenging issues , and we believe that Chinese authorities should also support them , not silence them . '' `` Free the five '' became a Twitter hashtag . Wang Qiushi , a lawyer for Wei , said police recommended last week that prosecutors press charges of `` assembling a crowd to disturb public order . ''
Wei Tingting , Wu Rongrong , Zheng Churan , Li Tingting and Wang Man are free . They will be under police surveillance for a year and have their activities restricted , attorney says . The international community has harshly criticized keeping the women in custody .