PEN America 2021 Freedom to Write Index: Myanmar Joins China and Saudi Arabia as World’s Top Jailers of Writers
During 2021, Myanmar accounted for the single-largest increase of writers and public intellectuals newly jailed for exercising free expression, due to the military junta’s crackdown on influential voices such… More
Saud Al-Sarhan
A researcher and columnist whose published works include political commentary on Saudi political, economic, and social issues, Al-Sarhan went missing in October 2021 after writing an article that acknowledged… More
Raif Badawi | Status: Conditional Release | Saudi Arabia
Raif Badawi is a blogger from Saudi Arabia and the editor of the website Liberal Saudi Network. More
PEN America Reacts to DarkMatter Lawsuit
“Al-Hathloul’s suit is a courageous contribution to establishing that accountability and our collective safety." More
PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel Testifies on Censorship and Free Speech Issues in China
“The regime’s determination to hunt down dissenters wherever they are instills a sense of fear from which there is no escape, even far beyond Saudi borders.” More
Jamal Khashoggi | Status: Murdered | Saudi Arabia
Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi Arabian journalist who had been exiled in the U.S. since mid-2017, disappeared while visiting the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey on October 2, 2018; … More
Virtual Solidarity Reading to Honor Imprisoned Women Writers and Activists
On Thursday, May 27, PEN America—in partnership with Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, Amnesty International USA, and the makers of the documentary film NASRIN—will host a virtual reading in… More
Nouf Abdulaziz, Loujain Al-Hathloul, Eman Al-Nafjan | Status: Conditional Release | Saudi Arabia
Writer-activists Nouf Abdulaziz, Loujain Al-Hathloul, and Eman Al-Nafjan were detained without charge by the Saudi government for their outspoken dissent. More
PEN America Welcomes House Passage of Protection of Saudi Dissidents Act
In a strong bipartisan vote Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Protection of Saudi Dissidents Act of 2021. More
PEN America: China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey Remain World’s Top Jailers of Writers
In PEN America’s annual census of detained writers worldwide, The Freedom to Write Index, the literary and free expression group found that in 2020, at least 273 writers, academics,… More
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This week, PEN America and a delegation of Ukrainian writers and human rights defenders met with members of Congress. Thank you @SenWhitehouse, @RepMcGovern, and @RepCohen!
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