(CPJ/IFEX) – On 28 December 1998, Agence France Presse (AFP) correspondent Ruth Simon was released from prison in Asmara. The conditions of her release are currently unknown. **Updates IFEX alerts of 19 October and 29 April 1998, and 16 June 1997** Simon was among five journalists who received CPJ’s International Press Freedom Award on 24 […]
(CPJ/IFEX) – On 28 December 1998, Agence France Presse (AFP) correspondent
Ruth Simon was released from prison in Asmara. The conditions of her release
are currently unknown.
**Updates IFEX alerts of 19 October and 29 April 1998, and 16 June 1997**
Simon was among five journalists who received CPJ’s International Press
Freedom Award on 24 November when CPJ also launched a campaign to free
Simon.
Background Information
On 25 April 1997, Simon was arrested after the publication of reports
alleging that President Afeworki had confirmed the presence of Eritrean
soldiers fighting alongside Sudanese rebels. AFP later published a denial by
the central committee of the ruling People’s Front for Democracy and
Justice, which described the original report as a “gross distortion” of the
President’s statement.
