Mary Braun, 68, and Tina Zmaeff, 64, received full parole from Matsqui medium-security prison this week because they "do not represent a risk to the public," said Fraser Simmons, Pacific region director for the National Parole Board.

The parole board granted Zmaeff full parole again earlier this year following a 90-day hunger strike with Braun. But Zmaeff refused to accept it because Braun's parole had been turned down.

Two Sons of Freedom Doukhobors who frequently fast to protest against their imprisonment will be released on full parole this weekend.

Mary Braun, 68, and Tina Zmaeff, 64, received full parole from Matsqui medium-security prison this week because they "do not represent a risk to the public," said Fraser Simmons, Pacific region director for the National Parole Board.

They will be released despite the fact Braun last year burning down a house where she had been staying in the Kootenay area while on full parole.

Asked why the women are not considered dangerous, Simmons said the Privacy Act, which protects the rights of prisoners, makes it impossible for him to comment further. Full parole gives the women freedom, but requires they report to a supervisor and stay within a certain region.

The two Sons of Freedom members, who are serving more than 10 years for burning a building in Castlegar in 1985, finished their latest fast of 24 days in mid-April at the urging of representatives of the Freedomite community near Grand Forks, said corrections spokesman Sonja Chupick.

"They are in stable condition now. It's not as if they're in serious condition or anything," said Chupick. The sentence of the two women, who hold the record for the longest hunger strike in a Canadian prison (107 days), runs to 1993.

The parole board granted Zmaeff full parole again earlier this year following a 90-day hunger strike with Braun. But Zmaeff refused to accept it because Braun's parole had been turned down.