Writers at Risk Database

Jean Mario Paul

Paul has been well-known for his stories exposing local government corruption. In the September 1991 military coup that deposed President Aristide, Paul was arrested and brutally tortured in police… More

Fessehaye Yohannes Johannes

Co-founder of the newspaper Setit, Yohannes was arrested in a sweeping crackdown on print media following the September 11 attacks and has been detained incommunicado since, drawing grave concern… More

Idris Mohammed Ali

Popular Tigrinya-language singer/songwriter Idris Mohamed Ali was arrested and detained without charge in November 2005. He has been held incommunicado since; rumors of his death have circulated online but… More

Idris Said Abu’Are

Freelance journalist and author of short fiction Idris Said was arrested in October 2001, after questioning the arrests en masse of his colleagues following the September 11 attacks. Since… More

Writers at Risk Database

Berhane Abrehe

A former top government official, Abrehe was arrested in September 2018, barely a week after he published a book criticizing Eritrea's autocracy. Abrehe's continued detention calls into question Eritrea's… More

Firew Bekele

University lecturer Bekele was arrested on August 17, 2019 and charged under Ethiopia’s draconian Anti-Terrorism Proclamation in connection with a book he had published criticizing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.… More

Atnaf Berhane Zone 9 Bloggers

Berhane is one of the Zone 9 Bloggers, a group formed in 2012 to publish political commentary online in the face of tightening restrictions on expression. The Ethopian Supreme… More

Natnail Feleke Zone 9 Bloggers

Feleke is one of the Zone 9 Bloggers, a group formed in 2012 to publish political commentary online in the face of tightening restrictions on expression. The Ethopian Supreme… More

Asmamaw Hailegiorgis Zone 9 Bloggers

Hailegiorgis is one of the Zone 9 Bloggers, a group formed in 2012 to publish political commentary online in the face of tightening restrictions on expression. Following his initial… 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