They had video-filmed a road block and tried to film a detention centre, the police said.

The family of eleven and the crew of a mini bus in which they had travelled to the detention camp to visit their relatives had already been released after questioning the police added.

When contacted Police spokesman Senior DIG Jayantha Wickramaratne said the journalists had been arrested under the emergency regulations since they were filming an army camp.

Wickramaratne said the police were yet to find why they had filmed the army camp.

When it was pointed out that the Free Media Movement (FMM) said the two journalists had not violated the law as they only filmed a roadblock, the Senior DIG said that the crew had tried to film the detention camp as well but the military had stopped it.

Those detained were journalist Ms Capucine Henri and her cameraman C.Simon of the France 24 news channel were.

According to FMM The French film crew who are at the centre of controversy have been detained around 7 p.m. on the Christmas eve along with a Tamil family of 11 and the driver and the conductor of the mini bus the family travelled in.

The TV crew were not allowed to enter the detention centre with the family.But while they were waiting for the family to return, in a nearby restaurant, after visiting their relatives detained in the camp, military arrested the crew and handed over to the police says FMM.

FMM also claims that a police officer watched the video and told the FMM that there is a scene of the road block in the video they filmed and they are being investigated by the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID).

FMM also said that police have not decided whether to produce the suspects in a Court of law or continue with the investigations.

However police said that in an incident of this nature concerning the country’s security the decision when they would be produced before Court or should the investigations continue have to be decided by the investigating authorities.

Courtesy - The Island