Where Assassins are Emboldened and Thoughts are Imprisoned
The ghastly murder of five writers in Bangladesh this year highlights the rapidly shrinking space for free expression in the country. More
PEN Fears for Writers’ Safety in Bangladesh After Murder of Blogger Avijit Roy
PEN is alarmed at the ongoing pattern of violence against writers and journalists in Bangladesh, who appear to be targeted with impunity solely for the peaceful expression of their… More
Egypt: Release Blogger and Activist Alaa Abd El Fattah
PEN calls on Egypt’s military authorities to release prominent blogger and political activist Alaa Abd El Fattah immediately and unconditionally. More
Malaysia’s Sedition Dragnet Continues into 2015
The Malaysian government shows no sign of scaling back its sedition dragnet with the arrest of human rights lawyer Eric Paulsen over a tweet he posted on January 9,… More
PEN American Center Condemns Attack on Denmark Free Speech Event
PEN American Center condemns the attack on a free speech event in Copenhagen today in which at least one person was killed and many injured. More
PEN Mourns Death of Friend and Vice-President of PEN Tibetan Writers Abroad, Lobsang Chokta
The PEN community is devastated today by the news of the murder of our friend and colleague, Lobsang Chokta in Delhi, India. More
Eritrea: Writers Released After Six Years of Arbitrary Detention
The news that six Eritrean writers and journalists have been unexpectedly released is a welcome step from a country with an atrocious record on freedom of expression. More
The Invisible Wall
Karl Ove Knausgård delivered this year's keynote address at the 14th Oxfam Novib/ PEN-International Awards for Freedom of Expression, in which he championed courageous writers from around the world… More
PEN Condemns UK Spying on Journalists’ Communications
Today’s revelations that the UK's Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) ‘harvested’ correspondence between journalists and editors at news organisations such as the BBC, the Guardian, the New York Times, and… More
PEN Staff and Members Visit Writers in China
After several days in Beijing, a delegation from PEN arrived safely in Hong Kong this last night. More