Detained British journalists’ documents reveal they were in Malta

The revelation was made by three of Libya's main military units, namely Faraj al-Suwayhili, the commander of the units, Mukhtar al-Akhdar, commander of Tripoli International Airport, and the Misurata member of the National Transitional Council, Muhammad Fortiyah.

Nicholas Davies-Jones and Gareth Montgomery-Johnson - who were working for Iran's English-language Press TV - were detained on February 22 by the Swehli brigade, one of the dozens of militias which last year helped oust Col. Gaddafi after 42 years in power.

"The British suspects had entered Libya without entry visas, illegally, on board a UN flight from Malta", before adding that Press TV "had in principle declared they did not work for it".

Addressing a gathering for the units in Tripoli, Faraj al-Suwayhili said that there was an attempt to "smuggle" the two British suspects out of Libya shortly before their capture.

The commander said Davis-Jones and Montgomery-Johnson had "secret account numbers belonging to Muatassim Gaddafi", adding that the accounts were allegedly held in Bank of Valletta.

It is unknown if the accounts are the same ones which came to light when a search on Muatassim's corpse shortly after being killed last September, yielded platinum credit cards issued in his name by Bank of Valletta.

Al-Suwayhili said that the Military Gathering was overseeing several cases concerning Libya's security, including the detention of the two British citizens.

He said the two journalists had been in Libya "without visas" since the start of the revolution, under the pretext that they worked as journalists with Iranian Press TV.

Video tapes, a CD, photographs and documents implicating them were shown to the militias who cheered their commander.

Arab newspaper 'Al-Watan' quoted Al-Suwayhili as saying the suspects had "bandages that were only used by the Israeli army", in addition to multiple visas to China and lists of mercenaries who worked with Gaddafi's regime.

The paper said a video showed "their movements around the Libyan capital Tripoli during late hours and filming of key locations".

Muhammad Fortiyah said the British suspects were kept in a safe place and were well fed.

He added that they would be handed over to the "Libyan intelligence, or the Ministry of Defence or the Interior".

He also said that they were preliminarily investigated by the revolutionaries, saying they were arrested while "moving around the Gathering's headquarters in a suspicious manner".

"We have not used any threats or violence. We are just investigating them. It is just a process of questions and answers," Swehli said in an interview with Reuters news agency last Thursday.

Asked when they would be released or transferred to the Libyan authorities, he said: "They are still under investigation. We are still only 40% of the way through the investigation."

He did not disclose where the two Britons were being held, but said they had regular visits from the British consul, medical care was available if they needed it, and the belongings they had in their hotel had been brought to them.

"They are living in a place that is almost like paradise. They are free to move around. They are eating pasta, chicken, meat. They have their phones 24 hours a day so they can talk to their families or their embassy. It is not detention as you would imagine it."

"They are in one room together...We gave them beds and mattresses. They will have all their rights as human beings."

"You have to understand that we have revolted against tyranny and injustice and we do not want to use this against others," the militia commander said.

International rights campaigners - including Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders - say the two Britons are being detained illegally. They say the militia should either release them immediately or transfer them to the custody of the official Libyan authorities.

The fact they are being held by a militia - which has no official status - is emblematic of the instability and weak central government control in Libya since last year's rebellion ended Gaddafi's rule with the help of NATO's air strikes.

In Britain, Montgomery-Johnson's sister told Reuters her brother, who is 37, had been trying to break into journalism and made his first trip to Libya in July last year - at the height of the rebellion- as a freelance journalist.

She said he had been in contact with his family since he was detained. "I know he's rung my father on two occasions very, very briefly and not really been able to talk," said his sister, Melanie Gribble.

"He's just my younger brother - he's quite bright, he's got an excellent sense of humour, and his heart is in the right place," she said.