News & Analysis
The latest news and analysis from PEN America’s research and advocacy.
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Press Releases • Commentary
PEN America Condemns Sentencing of Belarusian Journalists
“The ongoing targeting of journalists, including, prolonging sentences, and the general atmosphere of repression in Belarus are an urgent cause for international concern,” said Polina Sadovskaya, director of Eurasia… More
PEN America Denounces Propaganda Against and Russian Imprisonment of Ukrainian Activist
“The sudden onslaught of propaganda against Butkevych is full of lies, and his service in the field of human rights is not a ‘cover’ for anything. ” said Polina… More
PEN America Condemns Arrests of Iranian Filmmakers as a “Brazen Violation” of Human Rights
“The Iranian government’s decision to detain Mohammad Rasoulof, Mostafa Aleahmad, and Jafar Panahi marks a brazen violation of their human right to free expression and speech,” said Julie Trébault,… More
Failed Bill Brought by Arizona Democrats Would Have Restricted What Teachers Can Teach
"Had HB 2634 become law, Arizona teachers might have been unable to assign materials that depict historical or literary instances of discrimination to educate students about why discrimination is… More
In Letter to President Biden, 44 Noted Writers Urge Him to Raise Human Rights Abuses Directly with the Crown Prince As He Travels to Saudi Arabia
44 writers and journalists joined PEN America in urging President Biden to raise his Administration’s concerns about the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia during his conversations with Crown… More
New-York Historical Society Presents PEN America at 100: A Century of Defending the Written Word, Opening July 22
PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel, said, “PEN America at 100 opens a remarkable window into PEN America’s century-long effort to unite writers in defense of the freedoms that underwrite… More
Detailing Severe Human Rights Abuses in Belarus, Leaders Call on the UN Human Rights Council to Extend the Mandate of the Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Belarus
In Taped Reading, Author Margaret Atwood Reads Letter from her Belarusian Translator About the Arrests and Jailing of Writers, Journalists and Publishers By Suzanne Trimel (NEW YORK)-- The severe deterioration of… More
PEN America Condemns Sentencing of Belarusian Philosopher Uladzimir Mackievic to Five Years in a Penal Colony After Closed-Door Hearing
“With each individual detained and incarcerated for their protests against Lukashenka, we see how the situation in Belarus deteriorates and grows more dire,” said Polina Sadovskaya, director of Eurasia… More
“Cruel and Inhumane” Prison Sentences Imposed Without “Legal Merit” on Cuban Artist-Activists Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and Maykel “Osorbo” Castillo Pérez
Julie Trebault, the Director of the Artists at Risk Connection (ARC) at PEN America. said "This is a blow to artistic freedom in Cuba, and to the artists and… More
PEN America: Free Expression Rights Are Threatened by Overturning Roe v. Wade
As a human rights organization, we are deeply alarmed by a decision to brazenly roll back the right to bodily autonomy. When certain well-established rights are treated as dispensable,… More