NG Reporter Accused of Spying in the Sudan

This story broke over the weekend, so you may already have seen it. It seems that Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Paul Salopek has been arrested and charged with espionage while on assignment in the Sudan. Salopek, and his two guides from Chad, were arrested several weeks ago when they were stopped by the Sudanese military. When searched, Salopek, who is on leave from the Chicago Tribune, was found to have two U.S. passports, and because of this, it was deemed that he was a spy. Apparently it's not unnatural at all for journlists to carry two passports when traveling between countries, as it makes it easier to go back and fourth without causing a security issue, but in this case, it made things worse. On Saturday, a Sudanese court officially made the charges against him, and the reporter now faces trial, and possibly a lengthy stay in prison.

A story like this reminds us how dangerous it can be to travel abroad, especially in third world countries, or regions that are unstable. Salopek was in Sudan to study and write about the Sahel, an arid section of the Sahra desert. Lets keep our fingers crossed that this will all get resolved, and he'll be released shortly.