Kamalsy Najmal Kamalsy Prana

Malayalam writer and theater activist Najmal was arrested for allegedly insulting the Indian national anthem in a Malayalam-language Facebook post in December 2016. He was released after three days,… More

Writers at Risk Database

Gautam Navlakha

Writer and human rights activist Navlakha was one of many writers and activists arrested for “inciting caste violence” in the village of Bhima Koregaon in August 2018. He was… More

Varavara Rao

P. Varavara Rao

A renowned Telugu poet and leftist intellectual, Rao has been imprisoned by multiple governments for his viewpoints. In August 2018, he was arrested with other activists accused of inciting… More

Elie Kamano

Following a peaceful demonstration against President Alpha Condé’s third term in October, singer/songwriter Elie Kamano was arrested for 'participation in a gathering likely to disturb public order.' In November,… More

Writers at Risk Database

Wael Abbas

Known for his blogging to expose police brutality, Abbas was detained in May 2018 on charges of terrorism and dissemination of false news until he was conditionally released in… More

Writers at Risk Database

Abdel-Halim Qandil

A prolific journalist whose work has been censored many times in the past decade, Qandil was jailed in December 2017 for comments he made in a TV interview criticizing… More

Karam Saber

Karam Saber

In June 2013, author and land rights activist Saber was sentenced to 5 years in prison for “contempt of religion” in connection with his 2010 collection of short stories,… More

Medhat Safwat

Sawfat, who has written critically about fundamentalist groups’ strict interpretation of Islam, has faced verbal abuse and intimidation after each piece he has written. He was also formally admonished… More

Hisham Fouad Mohamed AbdelHalim Hisham Fouad

A columnist for Mada Masr, Fouad was detained in June 2019 and charged with participating in a Muslim Brotherhood plot to overthrow the Sisi regime. After beginning a hunger… More

Magdi Ahmed Hussein Gad

Hussein, who has authored pieces that comparatively examine Islam and Western values, was given a reduced five-year sentence in 2016 for his “contempt of Islam,” alleged distortion of the… More