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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

  • Status

    Imprisoned

    Anisha Asadollahi

    Activist, Literary writer, Translator
    Iran
    Middle East and North Africa

    Translator, activist, and teacher Anisha Asadollahi was detained on May 9, 2022, when authorities raided her home, arresting her and her husband. She had been arrested twice before for labor activism. She was released on bail on August 20. In May 2023, she was convicted on charges of “propaganda against…

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  • Status

    Displaced/In Exile

    Arif Yunus

    Activist, Literary writer, Scholar
    Azerbaijan
    Europe and Central Asia

    Yunus, a writer and political analyst, was sentenced in 2015 on retaliatory charges of financial fraud. He was conditionally released after four months in prison due to health concerns, and granted the ability to travel to the Netherlands for treatment. Now in exile, he continues his advocacy work focusing on…

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    A middle-aged man with glasses, a bald head, and wearing a dark suit, light shirt, and patterned tie stands in front of a blue background with a partial white circular design.

  • Status

    Deceased

    Ayşe Nur Zarakolu

    Literary writer, Publisher
    Türkiye
    Europe and Central Asia

    Author and activist Ayşe Nur Zarakolu was the founder of the Freedom to Publish Commission and was a pioneering female figure in Türkiye’s literary world. A political essayist herself, she was arrested over 30 times over the course of her lifetime for her writings on taboo subjects like the Armenian…

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    A black and white close-up photo of a person wearing round glasses and a scarf, looking slightly to the side with a neutral expression.

  • Status

    Released

    Cao Peizhi

    Activist, Online Commentator
    China
    Asia-Pacific

    Cao Peizhi is an activist and the founder of Warm House, a WeChat blog group discussing democracy issues in China. On July 3, 2022, he was detained on charges of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” because his blog allegedly validated foreign propaganda and carried insulting remarks about party and state…

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  • Status

    Released

    Chimengül Awut

    Editor, Poet
    China/Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
    Asia-Pacific

    Awut, an award-winning poet and editor at Kashgar Publishing House, was reportedly arrested in July 2018. She was sent without a trial to a “re-education camp” after her involvement in editing a novel by another Uyghur writer. According to reports, she was released in August 2020, although some later indicated…

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  • Status

    Recorded Harassment

    Dmitry Strotsev

    Online Commentator, Poet, Publisher
    Belarus
    Europe and Central Asia

    Dmitry Strotsev publishes poetry as a preserver of the “Minsk school of poetry” and has written poetry about the August 2020 Belarusian election and subsequent violence against protesters. On October 21, 2020, he was abducted with a bag over his head, detained, and was brought to interrogation at the KGB.…

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    Black and white close-up of a man with curly hair and a beard, gazing thoughtfully to the right against a dark background.

  • Status

    Conditional Release

    Eman Al-Nafjan

    Activist, Journalist, Online Commentator
    Saudi Arabia
    Middle East and North Africa

    Columnist and activist Al-Nafjan was detained in May 2018 in relation to her women’s rights advocacy as she filmed a female driver breaking the ban. She was later charged with “undermining the kingdom’s stability” among other charges. While in prison, Al-Nafjan was reportedly sexually harassed and severly beaten. In March…

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    Black and white close-up portrait of a woman with long, dark hair, looking at the camera with a gentle expression and a slight smile.

  • Status

    Released

    Firew Bekele

    Scholar
    Ethiopia
    Sub-Saharan Africa

    University lecturer Bekele was arrested on August 17, 2019 and charged under Ethiopia’s draconian Anti-Terrorism Proclamation in connection with a book he had published criticizing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. He was released on November 19, 2019. Bekele corresponds with PEN America about how to receive emergency funds for writers in…

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  • Status

    Under Threat

    Gustavo Gorriti

    Journalist, Literary writer
    Peru
    Americas

    A veteran journalist and author of five Peruvian history books, Gorriti has faced multiple instances of harassment dating back to 1992. In February 2023, 30 protestors stood outside his house shouting insults at him, accusing him of speading fake news. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights determined that Gorriti is…

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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.