Anti-LGBTQ+ Campaigns Lead to Broad Crackdown on Free Expression
A broad attack on LGBTQ+ rights in Lebanon reflects a larger trend of attacks on free expression in the country and the region. More
“Callousness” of Decision to Add Four Years to Journalist’s Imprisonment in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, Compounded by Arrest of a Second Journalist Who Criticized the Added Sentence
Justin Shilad, PEN America’s research and advocacy lead for the Middle East and North Africa said: “The fact that Sherwani was behind bars to begin with for his critical… More
Mazen Latif
Latif is a literary writer and owner of publishing house Mesopotamia. He is alos an activist who was heavily involved in the Baghdad protest movement. He was kidnapped from… More
Sherwan Amin Sherwani
A columnist and online commentator known for his writing on corruption, Sherwani was first arrested in 2019 in connection to two articles he wrote. He was rearrested in October… More
Alaa Mashzoub
On February 2, 2019, Mashzoub was murdered by an anonymous motorcycle gunman in Karbala. Prior to his death, Mashzoub was a vocal critic of Iraqi religious sectarianism and his… More
Ahmad Abdulhusain
On July 25, 2018, the head of the IMN, an Iraqi government holding company, issued an order terminating poet and journalist Abdulhusain as an editor-in-chief following his refusal to… More
Saad Salloum
Writer and coordinator of the Masarat Foundation for Cultural and Media Development, Salloum and others at the Foundation faced death threats throughout 2017-18 from an anonymous Islamist organization. The… More
Reports: Group of Artists Traveling to U.S. to Attend Their Own Exhibition Face Visa Delays
“The travel ban remains a troubling cornerstone of the current administration, with news like this highlighting ways the government limits cultural and intellectual exchange at the expense of democracy." More
Assassination of Novelist Alaa Mashzoub is a Blow to Creative Expression in Iraq
“It is critical that those who are willing to raise their voices and express dissident viewpoints in Iraq have the freedom to do so. Holding the perpetrators of this heinous… More
Journalist, Playwright, Filmmaker, and Iraqi Pen Member Murdered
PEN International is appalled by the murder of prominent journalist, playwright, filmmaker, and Iraqi PEN Member Hadi al-Mahdi, who was shot dead at his home in Baghdad on September… More
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