Three journalists arrested on suspicion of stealing public documents from a judicial inquiry into graft in the cocoa sector may face trial within two weeks, their lawyer said.

Police seized the editor, managing editor and director of publications at Le Nouveau Courier after the paper published the findings of a report into graft allegations against former officials from the Coffee and Cocoa Bourse (BCC) and other regulatory bodies.

At least 20 cocoa officials were detained in 2008 in a graft crackdown in Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa grower. Most remain in jail and have yet to go on trial.

Another journalist who wrote about corruption in cocoa - Guy-Andre Keiffer, a French Canadian - has been missing since his 2004 kidnapping while investigating the cocoa industry and its links to top government officials.

There is no criminal penalty in Ivory Coast for publishing anything, but theft of public documents can carry a jail sentence.

Still press freedom watchdogs have condemned the arrests.

"We call on the Ivorian authorities to respect the law that bans pre-trial detentions of journalists," said Committee to Protect Journalists in a statement.

"Arresting journalists for refusing to name confidential sources only undermines a vital public service."

The reporter's lawyer said: "The reporters were transferred this evening to the detention centre and the prosecutor decided to pursue a case against them before a court so they can be judged within two weeks."

"We will fight to free them."

source: Reuters