COLOMBO (AP) A Sri Lankan court released an ethnic Tamil newspaper editor on Friday after holding him for nearly two months on accusations that he aided a rebel air raid on the capital, his attorney said.

Magistrate Gihan Pilapitiya ordered the release of the Tamil-language Sudar Oli newspaper editor after police investigations found no evidence to charge him, the journalist's attorney K.V. Thavarasha said.

Police arrested Nadesapillai Vidyadaran on Feb. 26, six days after Tamil Tiger rebels sent a pair of light aircraft packed with explosives on a suicide mission to attack two air force bases in the Colombo area. The planes were shot down before reaching their targets and four people were killed, including the two pilots and two civilians who were hit by anti-aircraft fire.

Police said Mr. Vidyadaran had suspicious telephone conversations during the attack. Thavarasha said police investigated the calls and found no grounds to charge the editor.

Sri Lanka has come under heavy international criticism after a spate of attacks on and arrests of journalists viewed as critical of the government's offensive against the rebels, who have been fighting for 25 years to create an independent homeland for ethnic minority Tamils.

According to Amnesty International, at least 14 journalists and Sri Lankans working for media organizations have been killed since the beginning of 2006. Others have been detained, tortured or have allegedly disappeared, while another 20 have fled the country after getting death threats, the group said.