Five media watchdogs urge the authorites to charge or release journalist JS Tissainayagam who is kept in custody since March, this year

The Colombo magistrate rejected an appeal by his counsellors to release him on bail.

His counsellors argued that the police have no authority to detain anybody more than 90 days under emergency regulations.

Detained since March

However the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) told the court that the police have powers to detain anybody even for a year under ER.

The magistrate ruled that the suspects should be kept under police custody while an investigation is underway.

	counsellors argued his detention over 90 days is illegal

Representatives from five media organisations staged a protest in from of the court as Mr. Tissainayagam was brought to the court.

They urged the authorities to charge Mr. Tissainayagam or release him.

The editor of the Outreach Lanka website and a columnist for Sunday Times was arrested as he visited a colleague arrested by the TID on 06 March.

In a Fundamental Rights petition he earlier informed the court that he was neither informed of any charges against him nor a copy of the Detention Order given to him.

The petitioner said he launched the Outreach Lanka website in February this year with funding from German based Local Institute of Conflict Transformation.

Other four journalists arrested TID together with Mr. Tissanayagam were later released.