Excerpt from recent press release:

NEW YORK, September 5, 2008 – American filmmaker Andrew Berends is being provisionally released to US embassy personnel late Friday night, but is required to return to the State Security Services on Monday for what is expected to be routine final processing. Berends was moved Friday from the SSS offices in Port Harcourt to the Nigerian capital of Abuja. His translator, Samuel George and a Port Harcourt businessmanhave apparently also been provisionally released in Port Harcourt and must return to the SSS there on Monday.

“Andrew’s family, friends and colleagues are relieved and happy to hear of this progress and appreciate the hard work on many fronts to get to this point,” said Aaron Soffin, Berends’ colleague and coordinator of the release efforts. “We trust that his final processing on Monday will be expedient and routine. We are anxious for confirmation that he is safely on his way out of the country.”

Berends sent an email out, containing the following paragraph:

There is one boy I filmed here who has endured far more difficulties than I have. He made a statement which has given me great solace. He said, “Any time that you wake up, it’s your morning. Now is the bitter time. I pray that soon we will enter into the joy side.” I couldn’t put it any better myself.

Keep updated at helpandy.wordpress.com

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