A Cambodian appeals court Wednesday ordered the release of 13 women who had been sentenced to 2½ years in prison for protesting their eviction from their homes without adequate compensation, in a case that was widely seen as an example of injustice.

The women cheered in the courtroom, their supporters applauded and observers from foreign embassies, including the United States, smiled in the audience after the judge's ruling. Local and foreign human rights groups hailed the women's freedom, but said the court also should have overturned their guilty verdicts.

"Finally, justice has been done for us," defendant Heng Mom said tearfully. "From now on I can see my children and live with them."

The women had lived in Phnom Penh's Boueng Kak lake area, which the government awarded to a Chinese company for commercial development, including a hotel, office buildings and luxury housing. Residents complained that they were not given the new land titles they had been promised by the government.