US envoy questions arrest of journalist

AUg 28, 2006 (WASHINGTON) — A senior State Department official has raised with Sudan’s foreign minister the arrest of an American journalist by pro-government forces in the war-torn Darfur region.

Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi E. Frazer was on a mission to end the violence in Darfur when she “raised” the arrest of Chicago Tribune reporter Paul Salopek with Foreign Minister Lam Akol.

“We would hope that any judicial process be fair, speedy and transparent, and it’s something that we are watching very closely,” department spokesman Sean McCormack said.

American diplomats have met with the reporter in jail “and it is a matter of great interest to us,” McCormack said.

Salopek, 44, his driver and interpreter were arrested Aug. 6. He was charged with espionage, passing information illegally, writing “false news” and entering the African country without a visa.

Frazer was sent to Sudan with a message from President Bush calling on the government to allow a U.N. force into Darfur.

(AP/ST)