Tamils in Swiss court over extortion

Ten Tamils who were arrested in raids across Switzerland on Tuesday are to appear in court.

The Swiss attorney general says the men, who are presumed to be members of the Tamil Tiger rebels, are accused of money laundering and membership in a criminal organisation.

Swiss Federal Criminal Police carried out nation wide raids in more than twenty locations.

They say the investigations that led to the arrests started eighteen months ago.

In a statement, the Swiss Attorney General said that the arrested men pressured other Tamils living in Switzerland to financially support the LTTE - alleging that they blackmailed and intimidated their countrymen until they borrowed large amounts of money and handed it over.

Prosecutors allege that this process continued over several years and yielded several million dollars.

There are about 40000 Tamils living in Switzerland. The Swiss authorities have set up a telephone help line to encourage any victims to come forward.