officer, the paper has taken a writ out against Government.

Saying an "important principle'' needed to be established, Editor Bill Zuill last night confirmed the writ had been filed and said it was an issue of protecting the freedom of speech.

The writ has been filed under the Administration of Justice (Prerogative Writs) Act and as a matter of judicial review against Attorney General Dame Lois Browne Evans, Government's top legal advisor.

Mr. Zuill said: "We believe the Customs officer had no power of seizure in this case, regardless of whether our photographer was in a restricted Customs area or not.

"Therefore we're going to court to get a ruling on what the rights of the media are in a case such as this,'' he added.

"That's an important principle to establish because the media has to retain its rights of freedom of speech and to prevent efforts to prevent us from doing our job.

"We maintain the photographer followed the directions of the Customs officer to the best of his abilities. But the area concerned is not clearly signed,'' he added.

Mr. Zuill said he had received support or comments from other media locally, adding "it's an important principle to establish'' and the Royal Gazette should take the lead in defending it.

GOVERNMENT GVT NEWSPAPER NJ CUSTOMS CUS