The arrests of at least seven high-profile women’s rights campaigners in Saudi Arabia have been condemned by human rights groups as a sign that tentative social reforms in the kingdom are not as wide-ranging as promised.

Eman al-Nafjan, Loujain al-Hathloul, Aziz al-Yousef, Aisha al-Manea, Madiha Al-Ajroush, Walaa Al-Shubbar and Hasah Al-Sheikh were all taken from their homes on Friday evening, according to reports which emerged over the weekend.

All the women are ​vocal activists against the conservative country’s guardianship system, where male relatives or husbands have control over almost all aspects of women's lives.

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Along with male activists Ibrahim Modeimigh and Mohammed al-Rabe they were arrested for alleged involvement in activities that “encroach on religious and national constants”, a government statement said.

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.

All of those detained have at one point or another been involved in campaigning for the end of the kingdom’s ban on women driving – a rule that new Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has moved to abolish from next month.

“It appears the only ‘crime’ these activists committed was wanting women to drive before Mohammed bin Salman did,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.

The arrests – a devastating blow to the absolute monarchy’s tiny activist community – have been accompanied by a series of harsh denouncements in semi-official media outlets and social media accounts.

“There is no place for traitors among us,” a lengthy opinion piece in Okaz newspaper said on Monday. “Betraying the country is a red line regardless of [activist] goals.” The paper said the activists could potentially face the death penalty.

10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Show all 10 1 /10 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In October 2014, three lawyers, Dr Abdulrahman al-Subaihi, Bander al-Nogaithan and Abdulrahman al-Rumaih , were sentenced to up to eight years in prison for using Twitter to criticize the Ministry of Justice. AFP/Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In March 2015, Yemen’s Sunni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi was forced into exile after a Shia-led insurgency. A Saudi Arabia-led coalition has responded with air strikes in order to reinstate Mr Hadi. It has since been accused of committing war crimes in the country. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Women who supported the Women2Drive campaign, launched in 2011 to challenge the ban on women driving vehicles, faced harassment and intimidation by the authorities. The government warned that women drivers would face arrest. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Members of the Kingdom’s Shia minority, most of whom live in the oil-rich Eastern Province, continue to face discrimination that limits their access to government services and employment. Activists have received death sentences or long prison terms for their alleged participation in protests in 2011 and 2012. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses All public gatherings are prohibited under an order issued by the Interior Ministry in 2011. Those defy the ban face arrest, prosecution and imprisonment on charges such as “inciting people against the authorities”. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In March 2014, the Interior Ministry stated that authorities had deported over 370,000 foreign migrants and that 18,000 others were in detention. Thousands of workers were returned to Somalia and other states where they were at risk of human rights abuses, with large numbers also returned to Yemen, in order to open more jobs to Saudi Arabians. Many migrants reported that prior to their deportation they had been packed into overcrowded makeshift detention facilities where they received little food and water and were abused by guards. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses The Saudi Arabian authorities continue to deny access to independent human rights organisations like Amnesty International, and they have been known to take punitive action, including through the courts, against activists and family members of victims who contact Amnesty. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Raif Badawi was sentenced to 1000 lashes and 10 years in prison for using his liberal blog to criticise Saudi Arabia’s clerics. He has already received 50 lashes, which have reportedly left him in poor health. Carsten Koall/Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Dawood al-Marhoon was arrested aged 17 for participating in an anti-government protest. After refusing to spy on his fellow protestors, he was tortured and forced to sign a blank document that would later contain his ‘confession’. At Dawood’s trial, the prosecution requested death by crucifixion while refusing him a lawyer. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Ali Mohammed al-Nimr was arrested in 2012 aged either 16 or 17 for participating in protests during the Arab spring. His sentence includes beheading and crucifixion. The international community has spoken out against the punishment and has called on Saudi Arabia to stop. He is the nephew of a prominent government dissident. Getty

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman issued a royal decree last November announcing that women would be able to drive from 24 June 2018 for the first time since 1990.

The deeply symbolic move will transform women’s lives in a country where they must still seek the permission of a male guardian to fulfil needs and desires as basic as travel, study and opening a bank account.

In November, several of the arrested women were told by the authorities not to comment on the decision to repeal the ban, a decision widely believed at the time made to ensure the government, rather than campaigners, received credit for the repeal.

Lifting the driving ban is one of a host of social and economic reforms that have been unveiled in the kingdom since Mohammed bin Salman was appointed crown prince by his father last June. He has reined in the power of the country's notorious religious police, reopened cinemas and promised a return to a more "moderate" Islam.

The powerful 32-year-old is the driving force behind Vision 2030, the kingdom’s long-term plan to wean itself off dependence on oil by modernising society. Crucially, allowing women to drive will help them enter the workforce.

Critics have said the reforms are a carrot for the Saudi public ahead of the economic hardship they inevitably face in future. The decrees do not go as far as addressing the kingdom’s strict laws on freedom of expression, assembly, or the liberal use of capital punishment.

“It is clear that underneath all the PR hype and spin, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s reforms exclude human rights activism,” said Samah Hadid of Amnesty International.

“Saudi Arabian authorities cannot continue to publicly state they are dedicated to reform, while treating women’s rights campaigners in this cruel way.”

In November 2017, members of the Saudi elite were locked up in Riyadh’s Ritz-Carlton as part of an anti-corruption drive, a move that spooked markets and earned criticism from international rights groups.

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Several civil society activists were also caught up in that round of detentions.

Many campaigners are worried the new arrests mark the beginning of a trend.

“It’s crazy what’s happening in Saudi Arabia now – the targeting of women activists,” said Suad Abu Dayyeh, a consultant with feminist campaign group Equality Now.