Andrew Berends “temporarily released”

The filmmaker Andrew Berends has been temporarily released for the weekend along with his Nigerian translator, Samuel George. The two were arrested earlier this week while working on a film about the oil business in the Niger Delta,

“Nigeria’s democratic government has made enormous strides since the days of dictator Sani Abacha, when dozens of Nigerian journalists were arrested and held under terrible conditions,” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. “Detaining journalists for doing their job is unbefitting of the country’s new leaders. We hope that the ordeal of Andrew Berends and Samuel George will soon be over.” link

The comment from Joel Simon above – “Detaining journalists for doing their job is unbefitting of the country’s new leaders” – could likewise fit the arrest of dozens of journalists, including two AP reporters, from outside the Republican National Convention in the United States this week.