Chai Xiaoming

Chai was detained on March 21, 2019 for publishing a politically sensitive article on Red Reference, a magazine where he worked as an editor. He was held for six… More

Chen Zhaozhi

Chen Zhaozhi, a scholar and online commentator, was detained in March 2020 for his online writings criticizing the government during COVID-19. His prolonged detention has placed Chen, who already… More

Geng Xiaonan

Publisher and political activist Geng, and her husband Qin Zhen, were detained in September 2020 on charges of “running an illegal business” operation following Geng’s public support of writer-scholar… More

Mohamed Tajadit

Tajadit is affectionately called the “poet of the Hirak” for his poetry that comments on politics in Algeria. He was arrested in August 2020 for his involvement in a… More

Ales Pushkin

Ales Pushkin

Ales Pushkin was a performance artist who used art to criticize and comment on politics. In August 2020, he was detained and beaten while en route to protest the… More

Mikola Dziadok

Dziadok is a writer and blogger, analyzing Belarusian politics via his Telegram channel. On November 12, 2020, he was arrested on a “public order offense case.” His house was… More

Mikola Papieka

Mikola Papieka

In September 2020, poet and beekeeper Papieka participated in a “karahod,” a form of cultural protest used to show resistance to President Lukashenka's rule. In November, he was detained… More

Mehdi Salimi

Salimi writes on gender and politics. He was detained for a month in July 2020 and released on bail. In July 2021, a court convicted him of propaganda and… More

Khosro Sadeghi Borojeni

Borojeni is a freelance columnist and writer who has focused on political and economic analysis, including COVID-19 mismanagement and critiques of neoliberalism. He was arrested in May 2019 and… More

Jimmy Lai

Jimmy Lai

Apple Daily publisher and opinion writer Lai was arrested in August 2020 for violating Hong Kong’s National Security Law. Released on bail a month later, Lai was soon targeted… More