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Charged With Espionage
Salopek, 44, had been on a freelance assignment for National Geographic magazine when he and his colleagues were apprehended on August 6 by Sudanese forces in Darfur Province.
On August 26 a court in El Fasher charged the correspondent with espionage, conveying false news, reporting official documents, and entering Sudan illegaly.
Salopek admitted to entering the country without a visa but denied the other charges.
Governor Richardson, National Geographic's Johns, and the Tribune's Lipinski have repeatedly echoed the reporter's claims of innocence.
After Richardson's meeting with President Al-Bashir, the New Mexico governor said, "I emphasized to the president that releasing these men was the right thing to do, because Paul Salopek is not a spy."
Richardson's quest to secure Salopek's freedom began last week at a Washington, D.C., dinner with Sudan's Ambassador to the U.S., Khidir Haroun Ahmed.
Richardson's involvement caps a monthlong effort by the Chicago Tribune, National Geographic magazine, journalists'-rights groups, U.S. officials such as Illinois Senator Barack Obama, and others to secure Salopek's release.
"The successful end to this unfortunate episode is a victory for journalism and a free press," Richardson said in a statement.
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