Turkey/US: Violence on US Soil an Example of Turkey’s Intolerance of Dissent
NEW YORK—Reports of Turkish President Erdogan’s guards engaging in violence against protestors in Washington DC provide a troubling example of Erdogan’s intolerance of dissent and disrespect for free expression… More
Chip Rolley Assumes PEN World Voices Festival Leadership Amid Deepening Challenges to Free Expression
Chip Rolley, former Artistic Director of the Sydney Writers' Festival, has joined PEN America as the new Director of the PEN World Voices Festival and Senior Director of Literary… More
NJ Representative’s Attempt to Intimidate Critic and Stifle Dissent a “Blatant Abuse of Power”
NEW YORK—Efforts by Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) to intimidate and punish a critic constitute an unconscionable ethical breach of lawmakers' duty to uphold core constitutional rights of expression, association, and… More
Trump Threats to Cancel Press Briefings Could Further Degrade Public Trust After Comey Dismissal
President Trump's threats via Twitter this morning to "cancel all future 'press briefings'" because "it is not possible for [his] surrogates to stand at podium with perfect accuracy" would… More
TURKEY: Reopening of Case Against Pinar Selek Is An Unconscionable Disservice to Judicial Process
NEW YORK—The reopening of the 19-year-old case against Turkish sociologist and feminist Pinar Selek after a remarkable four acquittals is an unconscionable disservice to the judicial process, PEN America… More
TURKEY: Raid of Belge Publishing House a Poorly-Veiled Attack on Dissident Publisher
NEW YORK—The police raid of Belge Publishing House in Istanbul on May 7, allegedly based on a procedural complaint, was a poorly-veiled continuation of the Turkish government’s politically-motivated attacks… More
UNITED STATES: Arrest of Reporter Dan Heyman in West Virginia an Egregious Overreaction
NEW YORK—The May 9 arrest of Dan Heyman, a Public News Service reporter, at the West Virginia State Capitol after he repeatedly tried to ask Health and Human Services… More
PEN America Launches Campaign to Free Ukrainian Writer and Filmmaker Oleg Sentsov
Chimamanda Adichie, Trevor Noah, and other creative allies joined PEN America in a letter calling on Rex Tillerson to press for the immediate release of Oleg Sentsov. More
China: New Regulations Increase Control over Both Internet and Media
Recently-released Chinese internet regulations represent the Chinese Communist Party’s newest attempt to assert control over both the media and the internet. More
Conviction of Code Pink Protesters Raises Serious First Amendment Concerns
The conviction of three Code Pink activists in a D.C. court this week for “disrupting” Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ confirmation hearing raises serious concerns for free expression and the… More