(CNN) Weeks before Saudi Arabia is due to lift a ban on female drivers, authorities in the kingdom have detained four of the women who campaigned for the right to get behind the wheel. Activists Loujain al-Hathloul, Iman al-Nafjan, Aziza al-Yousef and Aisha Almane were arrested last week, along with four male supporters, the government and Saudi media said Friday. They are accused of "suspicious contact with foreign entities to support their activities, recruiting some persons in charge of sensitive government positions, and providing financial support to hostile elements outside the country," state news agency SPA reported, quoting a state security spokesman. The spokesman said the women wanted to "destabilize the kingdom and breach its social structure and mar the national consistency." The statement did not name the activists, but local media did, with one headline in the daily al-Jazirah newspaper branding them as "traitors."

Source: CNN May 20, 2018 14:37 UTC