Ahmed Naji | Status: Conditional Release | Egypt
Ahmed Naji was temporarily released from prison in Egypt on December 22, 2016, after his two-year prison sentence for “violating public modesty” was suspended by an appeals court on… More
Liu Xiaobo Must be Allowed to Seek Treatment Abroad
NEW YORK--In response to the statement from Western medical experts that it is safe to transport Liu Xiaobo abroad for cancer treatment, PEN America Executive Director Suzanne Nossel released… More
Egypt: In Wake of Legal Setback, PEN America Renews Call for Release of Ahmed Naji
NEW YORK—The denial this weekend of Egyptian novelist Ahmed Naji’s motion to stay his two-year sentence perpetuates the injustice of punishing a writer for the exercise of free expression,… More
Letter from Khadija: Don’t let Azerbaijan use political prisoners as props
This is a letter written by Khadija Ismayilova from jail. It originally appeared in The Washington Post. Khadija Ismayilova is an investigative journalist and contributor to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s… More
Joint Letter to Rouhani: Secure Release of Iranian Cartoonist Atena Farghadani
PEN American is among 40 rights groups who have signed a letter to President Hassan Rouhani below, asking him to work with Iran’s judiciary to release cartoonist Atena Farghadani. More
SAUDI ARABIA: Supreme Court Confirms Sentence of Raif Badawi
On 7 June 2015, the Saudi Supreme Court confirmed the sentence of 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes imposed on editor Raif (or Raef) Badawi after conviction of… More
China’s Publishers Court America as Its Authors Scorn Censorship
A few years ago, the Chinese writer Murong Xuecun had the kind of career most novelists dream about. His eight books had sold two million copies in China, and… More
American, Chinese authors protest major book fair, censorship with shadow expo in New York
Chinese and American authors gathered Wednesday to protest a major U.S. book fair's focus on China that they say ignores the country's glaring problems of censorship and intimidation. More
What U.S. Publishers Owe China
In 1962, Chinese President Liu Shaoqi warned Mao Zedong: “History will record the role you and I played in the starvation of so many people, and the cannibalization will… More
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