U.S. calls on Saudi Arabia to lift travel bans on released women activists

The flag of Saudi Arabia flies above the Saudi Arabia embassy near the Watergate Complex in Washington

GENEVA (Reuters) - The United States urged its ally Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to lift travel bans and other restrictions imposed on previously released women's rights activists.

Michele Taylor, U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Human Rights Council, also called on the kingdom to resolve cases of 'prisoners of conscience' - a term commonly referring to political prisoners.

"We urge Saudi Arabia to fully resolve cases of prisoners of conscience and to lift travel bans and other restrictions on previously released women's rights activists," Taylor told the Geneva forum in a speech coinciding with International Women's Day observed on March 8.

She did not name any political prisoners or recently released women activists subjected to restricted movement.

(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Jon Boyle)

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