PEN America/PEN International: Chinese Authorities Should Immediately Release Blogger Sentenced to 7 Years in Prison
“The seven-year prison sentence handed down to Ruan Xiaohuan for his politics and technology blog is an outrage. Blogging is not a crime and the heavy prison sentence on… More
PEN America, With Other Free Speech Organizations, Sends Letter to Congress Opposing Proposed National TikTok Ban
The letter reads in part: “We recognize the grave concerns that TikTok and other social media platforms pose for the privacy of individual users. We are also aware and… More
PEN America and Amani: Africa Creative Defence Network Call on Ugandan President to Veto Anti-LGBTQI Rights Law, Condemning it as a Serious Strike Against Free Expression
“We have seen a troubling rise in cases of Ugandan artists and cultural professionals who have been arrested merely on the grounds of telling the stories of LGBTQI+ communities… More
Cancellation of Drag Benefit Show on Texas Campus Goes Against Norms of Free Expression
“This cancellation is an abhorrent trampling of students’ free expression rights," said Kristen Shahverdian, senior manager of free expression and education at PEN America. “It goes against university policy… More
Hong Kong Authorities Should Drop Sedition Charges Against Booksellers, PEN America Says
“Producing and selling a book about Hong Kong’s 2019 protest movement is not a crime. Hong Kong authorities are attempting to rewrite the history of the protests by arresting… More
Student Disruption of a Judge’s Speech at Stanford U Deserved a Forceful Defense of Free Speech by the Administration, Says PEN America
“When a speaker has been invited to campus, they deserve the ability to speak and be heard, said Kristen Shahverdian, senior manager in free expression and education. “Students have… More
Proposed New Laws Targeting TX Public Colleges Would Create a “Climate of Fear and Self-Censorship”
“Taken together, SB 16, 17, and 18 would make Texas public higher education inhospitable for free expression,” said Jeremy C. Young, senior manager of free expression and education at… More
Egyptian Poet Galal El-Behairy—Jailed for Five Years for Writing a Song—Joins Hunger Strike Over Inhumane Conditions
“Galal El-Behairy’s continuing imprisonment and the revolving door of charges he faces--for writing a song--are an outrage, especially given that he has already completed a sentence on spurious charges.… More
Sharp Criticism of Decision Designating Journalists Group in Belarus “Extremist”
“The Belarusian KGB’s decision to designate the Belarusian Association of Journalists as an extremist organization is a new escalation against free expression in the country,” said Polina Sadovskaya, PEN… More
Chinese Authorities Must Release “Blank Paper” Protesters and Allow Free Expression on COVID-19 Pandemic
We call on the Chinese government to release Cao Zhixin (曹芷馨), Li Siqi (李思琪), Li Yuanjing (李元婧), and Zhai Dengrui (翟登蕊). More
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My latest op-ed on school librarians. @becalzada @technolibrary @MaryWoodard @KPekoll @OIF #Freadom @ashleyhopeperez @halseanderson https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/outlook/article/school-library-book-banning-bill-gop-abbott-lege-17857122.php?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=copy-url-link&utm_campaign=article-share&hash=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaG91c3RvbmNocm9uaWNsZS5jb20vb3Bpbmlvbi9vdXRsb29rL2FydGljbGUvc2Nob29sLWxpYnJhcnktYm9vay1iYW5uaW5nLWJpbGwtZ29wLWFiYm90dC1sZWdlLTE3ODU3MTIyLnBocA==&time=MTY3OTcwNDU3Nzg4MQ==&rid=NDBiMmRkY2UtYTdjZC00NWU2LWE0NmQtMDZmMTlkNWE2OGIw&sharecount=MQ==
#ChildrensBooks
“#FirstAmendment rights do not stop at the schoolhouse door,” PEN America’s Nadine Farid Johnson reminds
@JudiciaryGOP, highlighting the need to prepare students for "life in a participatory democracy, one that requires us to debate, to understand & to discuss." #StudentsRights