Bangladesh frees jailed journalist

The journalists are accused of filming Islamic radicals

A Bradford journalist jailed in Bangladesh for allegedly conspiring to portray the country as a stronghold of Islamic extremism has been released.

Zaiba Malik was working for Channel Four when she was arrested with a colleague last month.

Ms Malik and Italian Bruno Sorrentino are now due to be deported, the authorities in Dhaka say.

The pair have agreed not to use any of the footage they had collected in Bangladesh.

Ms Malik has apologised

They were arrested on 25 November, travelling on tourist visas, and told officials they were teachers, the authorities said.

"We are incredibly relieved that they have been freed and would like to thank everyone involved in working for their release," a spokesperson for Channel 4 told BBC News Online.

Channel 4 has said all along that Ms Malik and Mr Sorrentino were working on a general report on politics in Bangladesh.

But Junior Foreign Minister Riaz Rahman said the pair had admitted concealing their identities and going to Bangladesh to investigate reports that al-Qaeda militants were hiding there.

"Both journalists have submitted statements expressing regret for the unfortunate situation arising since their arrival in Bangladesh," he told reporters in Dhaka.

Bangladesh strenuously denies reports it has become a haven for members of al-Qaeda, who are blamed for the 11 September 2001 attacks on the United States.