Spy Software Used to Track Journalists, Activists is Direct Threat to Free Expression Worldwide
Sophisticated software purportedly designed to track international criminals and terrorists has been deployed to hack the smartphones of journalists, advocates, and human rights activists around the world. More
PEN America Condemns Indian Government Attempts to Block COVID Criticism
PEN America today condemned the Indian government’s attempts to stifle free expression by censoring social media posts amid the country’s battle with a massive surge in COVID-19 cases. More
Apoorvanand Jha
On August 3, 2020, Jha, a Hindi professor known for his criticism of the Indian government's passing of the controversial 2019 Citizenship Amendment Act, was questioned for five hours… More
Sudha Bharadwaj
On August 28, 2018 Bharadwaj’s house was raided and she was detained for ‘inciting violence’ on December 30, 2017 as part of a coordinated series of politically-motivated arrests of… More
Durai Guna Gunasekaran
Guna, a Dalit rights writer-activist, was detained in September 2019 for putting up “defamatory” signs inviting replacements for apathetic government officials. He was arrested again in September 2020 for… More
Vairamuthu Ramasamay Viaramuthu
Tamil poet and lyricist Viaramuthu was the target of protest in 2018 after he made comments linking the 7th century female mystic poet Andal to the Devadasi community, which… More
Resignation of Two Professors Highlights Growing Academic Freedom Crisis in India
Two professors at an Indian university resigned from their posts this month under apparent political pressure. More
Amid Protest Crackdown in India, PEN America Calls for Protection of Free Expression
As protests have rippled across India in recent months, police have become increasingly violent and the government has taken drastic steps to limit information. More
Prashant Bhushan
In August 2020, the Supreme Court fined lawyer and author Bhushan one rupee for two tweets critical of the Court, convicting him of “contempt of court.” Bhushan paid the… More
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PEN America On 
Belarus’ authoritarian president said Friday he’s prepared to invite Russian troops into the country if such a move is necessary to ensure the security of both Belarus and Russia. https://bit.ly/3lgIl8z
In our latest episode of #thePENpod, we delve into Mitch McConnell’s comments on the role of misinformation in vaccine hesitancy, the January 6 insurrection public hearings, and continued crackdowns on journalists in Russia: https://bit.ly/3BUEtQt.
In just under six months Myanmar has become one of the worst jailers of journalists in the world, with at least 32 currently detained, a media freedom watchdog said Wednesday. https://bit.ly/3j7nK3Z
