Al-Jazeera journalist in Paris court next week for flying drone

PARIS - One of three Al-Jazeera journalists arrested for flying a drone in Paris will appear in court next week where he is expected to plead guilty, a judicial source said on Thursday.

The other two journalists have been freed. All three were arrested on Wednesday for flying a drone in the Bois de Boulogne park on the western edge of the French capital.

Their arrest followed two nights of mysterious drone sightings over the French capital, although a source with knowledge of the case said the journalists were not involved in the earlier incidents.

Those unexplained sightings were made near the US embassy, not far from the Invalides military museum, the Eiffel Tower and several major thoroughfares leading in and out of the French capital, police said.

Flying drones over the capital is illegal under French law.

The names and nationalities of the three journalists from Al-Jazeera's international service, two of whom were freelancers, were not given. They are aged 34, 52 and 68.

They are thought to have been filming a segment on drones.

Only the journalist who actually flew the drone will face court, where he will plead guilty, the judicial source said.

The drone, which was supplied by the station's London office in November, has been confiscated.