Two European Journalists Arrested in Bangladesh

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, November 26, 2002

Two European Journalists Arrested in Bangladesh

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Two European television journalists, a British woman and a man carrying an Italian passport, were arrested by Bangladeshi immigration officials from western Benapole landport Monday while they were crossing over to West Bengal State of India on charges of sedition.

"The two had been charged with anti-state activities for filming documentary to tarnish the image of Bangladesh," a police officier in the capital confirmed Tuesday.

The two, Zaiba Naz Malik, a British woman of Pakistan origin, and Sorrentino carrying an Italian passport, came to Bangladesh on Nov. 16 as tourists and their profession was shown as "teacher". They were escorted to Dhaka from Benapole Monday night.

Police said the pair were engaged in making video films, collecting anti-government propaganda materials and interviewing opposition leaders and members of minority communities during their stay in Bangladesh.

Police said the duo working for British channel four, an allied TV channel of the BBC, had applied for visa in September at the Bangladesh High Commission in London to visit Bangladesh for making a film "Unreported World" focussing ethnic and communal issues.

Another woman Pricila was also detained from western Rajbari while she was returning to Dhaka after reaching the pair at Benapole border point.

Police seized 10 video cassettes and 300 US dollars from Pricila, a resident of Sukrabad residential district in the capital.

Police said a joint team of intelligence agencies interrogating them ascertained that they were engaged in anti-Bangladesh activities and the pair admitted their contacts with some opposition political leaders during their stay.

They visited different areas of Bangladesh and gathered information and photographs of so-called "repression on minorities."

An intelligence officer said they were closely following the two European journalists for the last few days.

A sedition case was filed with Dhaka's Motijheel Police Station against the three.

The Bangladeshi government said that some countries were engaged in propagating the country as a terrorist nation.

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