Akbar Azad

Akbar Azad is a poet, activist, and journalist from Iran continuously targeted by authorities. First arrested after giving a speech for UNESCO in 2014, he has been detained and… More

Aram Fathi

Fathi, a Kurdish poet, writer, and activist, was arrested and taken to an unknown location on June 17, 2021, after the Iranian intelligence service conducted a raid on his… More

Munawar Faruqui

Munawar Faruqui

Faruqui was arrested on January 2, 2021 on allegations that he had made indecent remarks about Hindu deities in a comedy routine he never performed—police officials later admitted the… More

Ashraf Hamdi

Ashraf Hamdi

A political commentator and cartoonist, Ashraf Hamdi was arrested on January 25, 2021 after reposting a cartoon for the 10-year anniversary of the 2011 uprising which led to the… More

Javier L. Mora

Mora is a contemporary poet and founding member of Archipiélago, a civic group calling for democracy and civil rights in Cuba. He was arrested on the morning of July… More

Maykel Castillo Perez

Maykel Castillo Pérez El Osorbo

Pérez has faced harassment for his activism, including police beatings and repeated arbitrary detentions since 2018. He was arrested in May 2021 for co-writing “Patria y Vida,” a Grammy-winning… More

Ramón Eusebio López Díaz El Invasor

Known for his dissident writing in his songs and online, rapper Ramón Eusebio López Díaz livestreamed his arrest on June 18, 2021, as police broke into his house following… More

Richard Zamora El Radikal

Zamora is a lyricist who frequently expresses critical ideas about the Cuban government in his music. On July 12, 2021, Zamora was arrested after participating in the 11J protests… More

Abdel Nasser Salama

Abdel Naser Salama, a columnist and political commentator, was arrested in July 2021 for a Facebook post in which he called for President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi to resign. While held… More

Ahmed Abdo Muhammad Maher

Maher is an Egyptian author, lawyer, and thinker charged with “contempt for Islam” for his book criticizing religious extremism. Charged in October 2021, less than a month later he… More