'Tamil rebel' arrested in Sydney

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The Australian police have arrested a man on suspicion of raising funds for Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebel group.

Arumugam Rajeevan was charged with being a member of a terrorist organisation and produced in court.

In May, Australian police arrested two other men in anti-terrorism raids in Melbourne, and charged them with similar offences.

Australia classes the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, as the Tigers are known, as a terrorist group.

The rebels have been waging a struggle for independence for the last 35 years, which has claimed 60,000 lives.

Mr Rajeevan, 41, "was charged in connection with two earlier arrests in May this year to do with raising money for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the terrorist group," federal police commissioner Mick Keelty was quoted by news agency AFP as saying.

The charges carry a maximum penalty of 25 years in jail if found guilty.

In May, police arrested Aruran Vinayagamoorthy and Sivarajah Yathavan during raids in Melbourne.

Officials said the men collected funds for Tamil Tigers by telling donors they were raising money for victims of the 2004 tsunami.