Perhat Tursun

Tursun is a renowned Uyghur writer of poetry, prose, and novels. He was denounced as anti-Islamic in the late 1990s for his work's themes of suicide, sexuality, and mental… More

Writers at Risk Database

Benny Tai Yiu-ting

Tai is a legal scholar and public intellectual who wrote foundational political pieces on democracy. He was convicted on politically-motivated public nuisance charges and served 4 months of his… More

Writers at Risk Database

Chan Kin-Man

Chan is a sociologist and leader of the pro-democracy movement Occupy Central. He was convicted on public nuisance charges and sentenced to 16 months in prison in April 2019.… More

Xie Fengxia Xie Wenfei

Xie spent 4.5 years in prison for subverting power after publicly supporting the Umbrella Movement. Released in March 2019, he has since been harassed and was again detained in… More

Wang Fang Fang Fang

Wang Fang, who also goes by the pen name Fang Fang, kept an online diary during Wuhan’s 11-week lockdown. She views herself as a witness rather than a critic… More

Writers at Risk Database

Nguyen Xuan Nghia

A poet, novelist, and founder of the banned democracy movement known as Bloc 8406, Nguyen was arrested in 2008 following the publication of Manifesto on Freedom and Democracy in… More

Mbizo Chirasha

Writer and human rights activist Chirasha has faced multiple attacks, including kidnapping attempts and electrocution, and threats on his life for his work exposing corruption within the Zimbabwean government.… More

Writers at Risk Database

Xu Zhiyong

Xu, a noted essayist and public intellectual, had for decades advocated for good governance and citizen engagement through his writing. In February 2020, he was detained amid a crackdown… More

Writers at Risk Database

Ahdaf Soueif

A prominent novelist, Soueif was arrested on March 18, 2020 for protesting for the release of Egyptians left vulnerable to coronavirus in overcrowded prisons and faced charges of “illegal… More

Tran Anh Kim

A retired military officer and prolific essayist, Kim has written about government corruption, human rights, and social injustice. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison in 2016 under… More