KATHMANDU (AFP) - The editor of a Nepali newspaper and two of his colleagues were remanded in custody for a further four days today following their arrest on treason charges.

Kantipur newspaper editor Yuvraj Ghimire, publisher Binod Gyaweli and managing director Kailash Sirohiya were arrested on June 6 for printing an article by a Maoist rebel leader on this month's royal massacre.

The trio have been in jail since their arrests as the courts have been closed for official mourning over the deaths of King Birendra and nine other members of the royal family.

The journalists were brought from prison by armed police to appear before Kathmandu's Special Court, which deals with offences against the state and serious criminal cases.

During the closed hearing, the prosecution asked the three-judge bench to allow police to detain the defendants for another 25 days to allow further investigations, according to defence lawyers.

But defence counsel Ram Khrisna Nirala argued the three men should be freed while the investigation continued.

Chief judge Mohan Prasad Shitaula ordered that the men be detained in custody until Friday when they would reappear before the Special Court.

He also ordered the police to produce a charge sheet at Friday's hearing, which they failed to do today, defence lawyers said.

As he was being taken back to jail following the hearing, Ghimire told reporters: "The legal process has just begun and hopefully it will be finalised soon."

New king not accepted

The article that led to the arrests appeared in the opinion pages of the Kantipur last week.

It was written by underground Maoist leader Baburam Bhattarai, who urged the army to revolt against the monarchy and government following the shooting spree that claimed King Birendra's life on June 1.

The piece stated that the Maoists, who have been waging a "people's war" insurrection since 1996, would never accept King Gyanendra, who was crowned last week in the wake of the shootings.

The article also rejected widespread reports and eyewitness accounts that have blamed Crown Prince Dipendra for the shootings at the royal palace. Dipendra died of his self-inflicted wounds on June 4.

Before today's court hearing, the Nepal Journalist Federation held a fresh demonstration calling for the trio's release.

The arrests had provoked protests on the streets of Kathmandu calling for the journalists' immediate freedom.