Oleg Sentsov
After being arrested in Crimea, Ukrainian filmmaker was Sentsov given a 20-year sentence on terrorism charges in August 2015. Following five years in a Russian jail—including a hunger strike… More
Sadiq Usman Saleh Sadiq Zazzabi
Popular R&B singer Saleh received a court summons for a song he released that allegedly contained “immorality by featuring seductive dances;” Saleh claimed his arrest was political. He pled… More
Abdullah Habib
In recent years, writer and filmmaker Abdullah Habib has been subjected to multiple detentions for his criticism of the Omani government and controversial online statements on religion. Most recently,… More
Junaid Hafeez
Hafeez, a liberal academic, was arrested for blasphemy in 2013 and has been in solitary confinement since 2014. An Islamist group lodged the accusation against him to prevent his… More
Mohammed Hanif
In December 2019, the son of former president General Zia ul Haq filed a defamation notice against Hanif, citing Hanif's satirical novel, A Case of Exploding Mangoes. The book's… More
Abbad Yahya
Yahya’s novel ‘Crime in Ramallah,’ which contains themes of politics, homosexuality, and religion, was ordered confiscated and banned in 2017. After an investigation was launched Yahya received death threats… More
Nelson Aguilera
PEN Paraguay member, writer, and author of children’s books Aguilera was convicted of plagiarism in November 2013, following accusations made by Maria Garay in 2010 that he plagiarized her… More
Tomasz Piątek
Journalist and writer Piątek faced potential criminal charges for a book published in June 2017, which examines the links between Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz and the Russian military intelligence… More
Wojciech Sadurski
Scholar and writer Sadurski faces three defamation suits for tweets he sent in 2018 criticizing Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) and public broadcaster TVP, calling the PiS… More
Mohammed Al-Ajami
Poet Al-Ajami was convicted in November 2012 for “inciting the overthrow of the ruling regime” and “criticizing the Emir” in two of his poems. He was sentenced to life… More