Two journalists working for Channel 4 television have been met by family and colleagues at Heathrow Airport after being released from prison in Bangladesh.

Award-winning Zaiba Malik and Bruno Sorrentino had been facing life imprisonment after they were accused of conspiring to portray Bangladesh as a stronghold of Islamic extremism.

Ms Malik, of Bradford, and Mr Sorrentino, of London, were arrested on 25 November trying to leave Bangladesh after filming material for a Channel 4 foreign affairs series, Unreported World.

On Monday the United States had "strongly urged" Bangladesh to give them full access to legal counsel and consular services through their embassies.

We did not know what was happening to each other Bruno Sorrentino

But on Thursday Mr Sorrentino said: "We were allowed no contact with any consular officials and subjected to interrogation at any time for 24 hours."

He added: "We were kept separate for the entire time.

"We did not know what was happening to each other.

"It was very difficult."

Ms Malik said: "We had no access to newspapers, media or the outside world or to lawyers for the first week.

I have lost a lot of weight Zaiba Malik

"We did not know what was happening.

But the pair said they did not want to discuss their treatment in detail as it was still the subject of legal proceedings.

Ms Malik, 33, added: "We are ecstatic to be back.

"We are going to get some food now.

"We are starving.

"And I think I have lost a lot of weight."

Tourist visas

A spokesperson for Channel 4 told BBC News Online: "We are incredibly relieved that they have been freed and would like to thank everyone involved in working for their release."

Channel 4 said the pair were openly filming "an objective report" and had notified the authorities.

But the journalists were arrested travelling on tourist visas, and told officials they were teachers, the authorities said.

Junior foreign minister Riaz Rahman said the pair had admitted concealing their identities and going to Bangladesh to investigate reports that al-Qaeda militants were hiding there.

Both journalists have submitted statements expressing regret for the unfortunate situation arising since their arrival in Bangladesh Junior foreign minister Riaz Rahman

And had agreed not to use any of the footage they had collected in Bangladesh.

"Both journalists have submitted statements expressing regret for the unfortunate situation arising since their arrival in Bangladesh," he told reporters in Dhaka.

The journalists' lawyer, Ajmalul Hossain, told the same news conference they had found no evidence of allegations of al-Qaeda activities and "saw clear evidence of religious tolerance and communal harmony in Bangladesh".

"My clients have apologised for their act of deception and they sincerely regret any misunderstanding that their conduct may have caused," he added.

Police also arrested two Bangladeshis, Paris-based media rights group Reporters Sans Frontier (RSF) representative and interpreter Priscila Raz and freelance journalist Saleem Samad, for allegedly assisting the two.

Their fate will be decided by a Bangladeshi court.

We have witnessed a parody of justice Reporters Sans Frontier secretary-general Robert Menard

RSF secretary-general Robert Menard: "Now we have a double-standard - one for European journalists and another for their Bangladeshi colleagues."

He accused the Bangladeshi authorities of trying "to frighten off foreign journalists wanting to report freely on the situation in the country".

Mr Menard added that Mr Samad had been mistreated under interrogation.

"We have witnessed a parody of justice," he said.

All arrests drew strong protests from Bangladeshi and foreign journalists' associations.

But Mr Rahman denied he had been "pressurised" into releasing the two.