Police say French journalists did not have media accreditation

The Free Media Movement (FMM) says two French journalists who were video recording a road block together with a Tamil family of 11 were arrested near Boossa military camp, near Galle.

Journalists Capucine Henri and C. Siomon of France 24 news channel were filming a Tamil family visiting their detained relatives on Christmas eve at the time they were arrested by the military.

The journalists were arrested because they were illegally filming in High Security Zone, police spokesman DIG Jayantha Wickramaratne said.

'No media accreditation'

He told BBC Sandeshaya that the group the journalists are now held in custody under the Terrorist Investigation Unit (TID), after being transferred to Colombo from Ratgama police.

Videoing a road block is not a crime to keep whole family and two journalists over night in a police station. There are so many instances that road blocks are filmed for various purposes including news reporting. Making a film on a family is not a crime either. FMM views this as another attempt to intimidate foreign media covering conflict related issues in Sri Lanka FMM Convenor, Sunanda Deshapriya

The journalists have failed to get media accreditation to work in Sri Lanka, according to police speokesman.

Fifteen people including two workers of the bus in which they travelled were detained in the police overnight.

The video journalists are to be produced before the court on Wednesday, FMM convenor Sunanda Deshapriya told BBC Sandeshaya.

"Videoing a road block is not a crime to keep whole family and two journalists over night in a police station. There are so many instances that road blocks are filmed for various purposes including news reporting. Making a film on a family is not a crime either. FMM views this as another attempt to intimidate foreign media covering conflict related issues in Sri Lanka," a statement issued by the FMM said.

'Operation carpet arrest'

Deploring the police action to deprive the peoples right to know, the FMM urges authorities to "speed up the investigation and release the journalists in detention without further delay".

Over 400 Tamils, majority of them of Indian origin, were detained in the Boossa detention camp after the security forces detained about one thousand Tamils in Colombo after two bomb blasts.

	Many Tamils were arrested after the bomb blast in Nugegoda

Colombo district Tamil parliamentarian Mano Ganeshan described the move as 'operation carpet arrest' as the hundreds Tamils were arrested without a valid reason.

The joint search operation was carried out after Tamil Tigers are accused of a series of bomb blasts in the capital killing at least 20 people.

Deputy Minister P Radhakrishnan told BBC Sandeshaya at the time of the arrest that over 400 of those arrested were sent to Boossa camp.

Some of them were later released by the authorities but many still are detained in the camp.

The French journalists were filming the journey from a lodge in Colombo to down south of a Tamil family who visited their relatives detained in the camp.

FMM says the TV crew was not allowed to enter the camp and was arrested by the military as they were waiting in a nearby restaurant.