Story highlights The four journalists are accused of participating in an illegal demonstration, Bahrain says

One of them was accused of "participating in attacks on police" with protesters

Journalist Anna Therese Day is one of them, her family says

(CNN) Four American journalists recently arrested in Bahrain amid opposition protests in the Persian Gulf island nation have been released, and they were planning to leave the country Tuesday evening, their lawyer said.

The four were charged with participating in an illegal demonstration over the weekend, among other things, but they were ordered released from custody while the case is further investigated, the office of Bahrain's public prosecutor said Tuesday.

The Americans -- freelance journalist Anna Therese Day and three members of her TV crew -- were in Bahrain to cover the fifth anniversary of the start of mass pro-reform protests inspired by the Arab Spring , the journalist advocacy group Reporters Without Borders said.

The group said the four were released without being subject to travel restrictions. After their release, they intended to depart Tuesday evening on a flight to the United Arab Emirates, said their lawyer in Bahrain, Mohammed al-Jishi.

"While we believe the four should not have been held at all, we are grateful to the Bahraini authorities for facilitating their timely release," the journalists' families said in a joint statement Tuesday. "We are awaiting news of their current location and hope they will be free to return to the United States as soon as possible."

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