Writers at Risk Database
PEN America champions the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. The bedrock work of the global PEN network is advocacy and assistance on behalf of individuals persecuted for their use of the written word or other forms of expression. PEN America’s Writers at Risk Database is a searchable catalog of the writers, journalists, academics, public intellectuals and others under threat around the world. The database includes historical cases PEN America has worked on from 1987 onwards; non-active cases are color-coded black. PEN America is grateful to the John Templeton Foundation for support that enabled the establishment of the Writers at Risk Database and to PEN International for their collaboration in assembling this database.
Filters
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DetainedGalal El-Behairy
Poet, Singer/SongwriterEgyptMiddle East and North AfricaTargeted for his lyrics in the protest song “Balaha” and a book of poetry entitled The Finest Women on Earth, El-Behairy was detained in March 2018. He was sentenced to 3 years in prison on national security and “false news” charges. He remains jailed despite serving his full sentence. On…
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ImprisonedPham Doan Trang
Activist, Journalist, Literary writer, Online CommentatorVietnamAsia-PacificA blogger, democracy activist, and non-fiction author, Trang resigned from the Liberal Publishing House in July 2020, citing security threats. In October 2020, she was detained on charges of making anti-state propaganda under Article 117. In December 2021, she was sentenced to 9 years in prison following over a year…
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ImprisonedMahvash Sabet
Literary writer, PoetIranMiddle East and North AfricaA literary writer, poet, and member of the Baha’i community, Mahvash Sabet was arrested in July 2022. In November, she was sentenced to 10 years in prison on national security charges in a speedy trial. According to fellow prisoner Narges Mohammadi, Sabet has suffered torture and ill treatment in custody,…
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Conditional ReleaseLoujain Al-Hathloul
Activist, Online CommentatorSaudi ArabiaMiddle East and North AfricaAl-Hathloul, a women’s rights advocate, was detained in a sweep of arrests in May 2018 and held for 1,000 days in prison, during which time she was reportedly tortured and assaulted. In December 2020, she was found “guilty” of broad terrorism charges and sentenced to nearly six years in prison.…
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DetainedNarges Mohammadi
Activist, Journalist, Literary writer, Online CommentatorIranMiddle East and North AfricaNarges Mohammadi, a human rights defender, author, journalist, and deputy director and spokesperson of the Defenders of Human Rights Centre (DHRC) in Iran, has been repeatedly targeted and arrested since 2009 by the Iranian authorities. She has spent more than 10 years of her life in prison, most recently from…
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DetainedAlaa Abd El Fattah
Activist, Online CommentatorEgyptMiddle East and North AfricaActivist and blogger Abd El Fattah was first arrested in 2014 and served five years in prison until March 2019. He was re-arrested six months later and detained at Tora prison. In December 2021, he was sentenced to five years in prison for “broadcasting false news.” He started a hunger…
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ImprisonedYury Alexeyevich Dmitriev
Activist, ScholarRussiaEurope and Central AsiaA historian who researched Stalinist atrocities and head of the Karelia branch of the human rights organization Memorial, Dmitriev was imprisoned on baseless charges of sexual assault. On September 29, 2020, prosecutors appealed his prior acquittals in a backdoor trial, resulting in a 13 year sentence. In December 2021, this…
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ReleasedAles Bialacki
Activist, Literary writer, ScholarBelarusEurope and Central AsiaBialacki is a writer, literary critic, and head of human rights group Viasna. In July 2021, he was arrested on feigned tax evasion charges targeting his work to monitor human rights violations. He was detained on charges of “smuggling” and “ violating public order” by “financing group activities.” He was…
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ImprisonedXu Zhiyong
Activist, Literary writerChinaAsia-PacificXu, a noted essayist and public intellectual, had for decades advocated for good governance and citizen engagement through his writing. In February 2020, he was detained amid a crackdown on activists critical of Chinese government policies who had gathered in late December 2019. He was tried in secret in June…
Writers at Risk Database Key:
STATUS box that is red: Active case
STATUS box that is black: Inactive case
Funder
PEN America is deeply grateful to the John Templeton Foundation for its generous support of the Freedom to Write Index and Writers at Risk Database.
Partner
PEN America thanks the PEN International Secretariat and the Writers in Prison Committee for their extensive contributions to and collaboration on compiling the cases included in this database.