Updated

Bahrain's Foreign Ministry says a prominent female political activist will be released after nearly two months in prison.

In a statement Monday, it says Zainab al-Khawaja is being released on humanitarian grounds because of her year-old son, who was permitted to be with her in prison. It refers to her as a foreign national despite the fact that she has dual Danish-Bahraini citizenship.

She had faced three years in prison over a variety of charges related to her participation in anti-government protests, including several in which she tore up pictures of Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

Bahrain quashed Arab Spring-inspired protests in 2011 led by the Shiite majority against the Sunni monarchy.

Al-Khawaja's sister Maryam tells The Associated Press that she remains imprisoned.