Liu Jingsheng | Status: Released | China
Liu Jingsheng is a peaceful opposition activist and a former co-editor of Tansuo (Explorations), a journal he founded in the late 1970s along with Wei Jingsheng. More
PEN America Joins Belarusian PEN Center in Call to End Persecution of Writer and Activist Paviel Sieviaryniec
The harassment of renowned writer Paviel Sievaryniec and his fellow activists in Belarus has gone on for too long, and his arrest this week is proof of the continuous threat to… More
Ahmed Naji | Status: Released | 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
Eskinder Nega | Status: Released | Ethiopia
Eskinder Nega, a journalist and dissident blogger who is one of Ethiopia’s leading advocates for press freedom and freedom of expression, served almost 7 years of an 18-year sentence… More
Ali Al-Domaini | Status: Released | Saudi Arabia
Ali Al-Domaini is a poet and writer whose publications include three collections of poetry and one novel in Arabic. As a political activist, he has campaigned for a move… 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
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