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Al-Jazeera journalists arrested for Paris drone

February 25, 2015

Television journalists from the Qatar-based network have been taken into police custody. They were allegedly flying a drone illegally while filming a story about the city's recent streak of mysterious drone sightings.

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Frankreich Paris Symbolbild Dronenüberflug
Image: Reuters/G. Fuentes

Three journalists for Al-Jazeera television were arrested in Paris on Wednesday for flying a drone in the wake of a spate of mysterious drone sightings around the city. The foreign nationals, aged from 34 to 68, were detained in a park at the edge of city, Bois de Boulogne, after police spotted the flying drone, which is forbidden over the French capital.

Police spokeswoman Agnes Thibault-Lecuivre confirmed the arrests, but was unclear about what the trio were trying to accomplish. Their network issued a statement saying, "Three Al-Jazeera journalists have been held by police in Paris while filming a report on the city's recent mystery drones."

Unidentified drones were spotted at numerous prominent locations around the city on Monday and Tuesday nights - including the American embassy, the Eiffel Tower, the Paris Opera and the Gare de l'Est train station.

Last month, a drone was seen flying over the Elysee Palace, the residence of Francois Hollande, which was followed by dozens of sightings over nuclear plants and military installations.

These latest episodes have caused particular concern, with Paris already on highest-alert after January's attack by Islamist radicals.

The three journalists can be held for a maximum of 24 hours under French law. Flying drones without a license is illegal and can carry a maximum one-year prison sentence and a 75,000 euro ($85,000) fine.

es/gsw (AP, AFP)