2012 PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award Winner Eskinder Nega Freed After Almost Seven Years in Prison in Ethiopia
We are overjoyed that Eskinder has been freed, and call on the governments of Ethiopia and the United States to ensure that he can be speedily reunited with his… More
PEN America to Honor Imprisoned Myanmar Journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo with 2018 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award
“By simply doing their jobs, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo demonstrated exceptional courage, knowing full well the risks they were taking in pursuing this story. Yet they continued... More
New Video of Gui Minhai Fits Pattern of Coerced Statements Made at Behest of Chinese Authorities
"From the beginning, the Chinese government that has treated Gui Minhai as a pawn. They abducted him, moved him against his will, and kept him in illegal detention for… More
Threat of Prison Sentence for Two Turkish Filmmakers Marks Another Blow to Free Expression in Turkey
“The campaign of intimidation against Çayan Demirel and Ertuğrul Mavioğlu and the criminalization of their work is an egregious violation of human rights, and yet another example of the… More
2012 PEN/Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award Winner Eskinder Nega to be Released After More Than Six Years in Prison in Ethiopia
“We are overjoyed at news that Eskinder has been pardoned and is to be freed to reunite with his family and return to his writing. We hope that his release is immediate… More
Polish President’s Attempt to Criminalize Language around the Holocaust an Alarming Attack on Free Expression
"This law would silence anyone wishing to engage in open discussion, journalistic reporting, or academic debate about a complicated and devastating period in history. It is precisely the wrong… More
Tougher Sentencing Guidelines for “Unlawful Assembly” in Hong Kong Troubling, in Spite of Dismissal of Pro-Democracy Activists’ Sentences
"The overall result of today’s decision is a scary one for the future of protest in Hong Kong, given the approval of sentencing guidelines that seemed to be geared… More
PEN America to Honor Edmund White, Edna O’Brien for Lifetime Achievement in Literature at February 20 Ceremony in New York
PEN America announced today that it will honor legendary author and LGBT cultural pioneer Edmund White with the annual PEN/Saul Bellow Award for Achievement in American Fiction, and Irish… More
Bail Denied as Myanmar Authorities Begin Case Against Detained Reuters Journalists
"The use of archaic colonial laws to detain and charge Wa Lone and Moe Aung is a blatant attempt to punish investigative journalism and intrepid reporting. These charges are an absurd attack on… More
Order to Release Ravi Ragbir Does Not Mark End of His Ordeal or of Trump Administration’s Efforts to Silence Immigrants’ Rights Activists
The detention and deportation (or threat thereof) of immigrants’ rights activists under the Trump administration have raised serious concerns that those targeted are being punished for their speech and… More