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French journalists detained in Pakistan
The journalists - reporter Mark Epstein and photographer Jean Paul Guilloteau of LâExpress magazine - arrived Pakistan on December 7 on journalist visas which only allowed them to visit Karachi, the capital Islamabad and eastern city Lahore. Epstein and Guilloteau had not requested the necessary special permits for their trip to Quetta because their investigative reporting required discretion, Reporters Without Borders said. Another person was also reportedly arrested for giving them an interview, the organisation said. Police confiscated a computer and notebook from Epstein, and digital camera memory cards and videotapes from Guilloteau. Epstein won Diplomatic Press Prize in 2001 for a report he and his Pakistani assistant, Khawar Mehdi Rizvi, produced on Pakistanâs western tribal areas. A Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) official said the pair could face three years jail. "They will be put on trial. The maximum penalty in this case is three years," FIA deputy director Mohammad Malik said.Posted by: seafarious 2003-12-18 |
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