Sudan Frees "Geographic" Reporter Held as Spy

Ted Chamberlain

September 9, 2006

National Geographic magazine reporter Paul Salopek, who had
been charged with spying, and two African colleagues have been
released from a Sudanese jail in El Fasher, the capital of North
Darfur Province.

"We are stopping the case and we are releasing you right now. And that is all," Judge Hosham Mohammed Yousif said to the U.S. journalist and his two African colleagues after a brief proceeding today, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The release comes one day after New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson spoke with Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir in the capital, Khartoum, on behalf of Salopek, who is a New Mexico resident.

Salopek, who is on a scheduled leave of absence from the Tribune, was met in El Fasher by Richardson; Chris Johns, National Geographic magazine Editor in Chief; Linda Lynch, Salopek's wife; and Tribune editor Ann Marie Lipinski.

"Everybody is absolutely delighted," National Geographic's Johns told the Tribune. "I've worked for 20 years in Africa and never had a better day than this one."

Salopek and his party arrived by plane in Khartoum around 8 p.m., local time.

At a subsequent press conference, Salopek said his "treatment was excellent."

Speaking by phone after the conference, Johns echoed the sentiment.

"The longer Paul stayed in Sudan, the better his accommodations became. The Sudanese took good care of him," Johns said. "No handcuffs, no leg irons."

Around 11 p.m., local time, Salopek, Lynch, Lipinski, and Richardson left Sudan on a New Mexico-bound plane. Johns remained in Khartoum to ensure that Salopek's driver and interpreter make it home safely to neighboring Chad (map of the region).

"Paul told me he's concerned about of the safe return home of his Chadian interpreter and driver—Suleiman Abakar Moussa and Idriss Abdulraham Anu. … " Johns had said on Friday.

"I assured him that I and the National Geographic Society will take responsibility for getting them home safely."

(Both National Geographic News and National Geographic magazine are parts of the National Geographic Society.)

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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