Eiffel Tower, Paris (Photo : Reuters/Gonzalo Fuentes)
Three reporters from Al-Jazeera where arrested in Paris on Feb. 25, Wednesday for allegedly operating a drone.
As reported earlier by the Daily Mail, the arrest of the journalists took place in a park where they were seen operating the machine. This follows after unidentified drones were spotted buzzing around the Bastille Square, the Eiffel Tower, the United States embassy, and other landmarks in the French capital on Monday and Tuesday nights.
Agnes Thibault-Lecuivre, spokeswoman for Paris prosecutors, stated that it is still not clear as to what the journalists were trying to accomplish using the machine.
When asked if the reporters were filming about the mystery drones that sparked a terror alert the previous nights, she answered, "We will comment further when more information is available."
The Qatar-funded news network, however, says the trio were just filming on drone sightings, Mashable reports.
Al-Jazeera correspondent Jacky Rowland tweeted, "3 #AlJazeera colleagues detained in #Paris were doing report about the mystery #drones Let's be clear:they're not behind the mystery drones."
The arrested journalists, aged 70, 54, and 36, can be held for 24 hours maximum. People flying drones without a license in France could be charged a maximum one year imprisonment with a fine of €75,000.
The arrest follows after mysterious drones were seen on Monday and Tuesday nights, which remained unknown as to who was behind the operation and how many machines were used.
According to French authorities, drones are not a threat, aside from the risk of falling accidentally on someone. But others fear that the machines could be used to spy on technology or could be used to carry weapons.
The French government is now said to be looking for ways to counteract the machines.
