U.N. Calls on China to Release Liu Xiaobo
Last week, the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, a panel comprised of independent legal experts, ruled that 2010 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Liu Xiaobo, currently serving an 11-year… More
Success and Silence in Today’s China
Last week, a small group of representatives from PEN American Center and PEN International visited Beijing and Hong Kong, hoping to learn more about the situation for writers and… More
Now it is up to us: Remembering Natalia Estemirova
[caption id="attachment_921" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Natalia Estemirova © 2007 Victoria Ivleva-Yorke"][/caption] Two years ago on this day, the award-winning human rights activist and journalist Natalia Estemirova was found murdered after her… More
Actions Work: Tran Khai Thanh Thuy Released from Prison
[caption id="attachment_676" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Tran Khai Thanh Thuy"][/caption] Last week, PEN centers around the world celebrated the news that Tran Khai Thanh Thuy, a Vietnamese writer and PEN American Center… More
Torture and Our House of Mirrors
I went to Washington last week with China on my mind, but came back preoccupied once again with torture. [caption id="attachment_603" align="alignleft" width="269" caption="House of Mirrors"][/caption] That’s because twice in one… More
Ai Weiwei’s Release Gives Reason for Hope
[caption id="attachment_392" align="alignnone" width="392" caption="Ai Weiwei"] [/caption] We were much relieved to learn that Ai Weiwei was released this week on bail, though we know from the experiences of others in… More
Dear President Obama
Arguing that the United States owes a public debt to those who refused to support or participate in torture, PEN American Center has joined with nine other leading human… More
Give Us Back Our Bahrain
httpv://youtu.be/K8-qOerX3xI The above video captures Bahraini poet Ayat al-Gormezi reciting her poem, “Khalifa” (Prime Minister), at a pro-democracy protest in Pearl Square. She was arrested in March and charged with incitement… More
Words a Cell Can’t Hold
I had imagined being there beneath sunlight / with the procession of martyrs / using just the one thin bone / to uphold a true conviction More
Enoh Meyomesse:Ma Vie en Prison (francais)
Mes premiers jours ont été difficiles à Kondengui, où je suis arrivé jeudi 22 décembre 2011 à 14 heures, quoique, en comparaison aux trente passés en garde à vue… More
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