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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 31, 2006
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For more information:
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Letter on Behalf of Journalist Paul Salopek
His Excellency Omar Hassan al-Bashir
President of the Republic of Sudan
c/o His Excellency Ambassador Khidir Haroun Ahmed
Embassy of the Republic of Sudan
2210 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20006
By Facsimile (202) 667-2406
Your Excellency:
We are writing on behalf of the International Women’s Media Foundation to express our concern about the detention and criminal prosecution of Paul Salopek, an award-winning reporter for The Chicago Tribune, who was jailed in Sudan while on assignment for National Geographic.
With the increase in deaths of and threats to journalists worldwide because of their work, we are alarmed at restrictions on free expression and press freedom in Sudan. All viewpoints should be allowed to be expressed in the media without force and coercion from the government. We are particularly alarmed about the how the Sudanese government has handled Mr. Salopek’s case. He was on assignment to write about the culture, history and geography of Africa’s Sahel region, and was arrested with his interpreter, Suleiman Abakar Moussa, and driver, Idriss Abdelrahman Anu. All three were charged with espionage, illegally disseminating information and writing “false news.” Mr. Salopek is an internationally known, award-winning reporter, with an impeccable professional reputation. We find these charges, at best, questionable, and at worst, irresponsible. Their trial is scheduled for September 10.
The International Women’s Media Foundation is a network of more than 1,500 women and men in the media worldwide who support an international free and independent press. Your excellency, we urge you to see that these journalists, who were simply engaged in carrying out their professional work, are released immediately.
Thank you for your attention.
Sincerely,
Larry Olmstead, co-chair
Eleanor Clift, co-chair
cc: Cameron Hume
Chargé d’Affaires
Embassy of the United States of America
Sharia Ali Abdul Latif
Khartoum, Sudan
The Chicago Tribune
National Geographic
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