By: E&P Staff New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson left Thursday on a plane to Sudan's capital, along with the wife of Chicago Tribune reporter Paul Salopek, who is imprisoned there, and Tribune Editor Ann Marie Lipinski.
Salopek's wife is an artist who lives in New Mexico.
Before leaving, Richardson told reporters that he would seek to secure Salopek's release on humanitarian grounds when he meets with Sudan's leader, Omar al-Bashir, in Khartoum. "The president formally invited Richardson to come to Sudan, raising hopes for a speedy resolution of the case," the Tribune reports today.
"We will return whenever we bring him back," the governor told reporters.
Lipinski called Salopek, 44, a Pulitzer winner, "one of the most humble and distinguished journalists I have ever worked with. He has an amazing ability to really connect with the people he writes about, and there is a stack of letters I hope to show him someday from his readers and people he has written about, asking how they can help."
Salopek was arrested Aug. 6 and charged Aug. 26 with espionage, writing "false news," passing information illegally and entering the country without a visa.
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