Pen Honors Imprisoned Writers on International Human Rights Day (December 10)
December 10, 2011 (International Human Rights Day), marks the first anniversary of the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo, former president of the Independent Chinese PEN… More
Internet Writer’s Sentence Reduced
The sentence of university teacher and Internet writer Pham Minh Hoang has been reduced by an appeals court from three years to 17 months. More
Internet Writers Released
Internet writers Ahmed Mansoor and Nasser Bin Gheith were released on November 28, 2011, under a presidential pardon, a day after they had been convicted and sentenced to three… More
Journalist Dzamshid Karimov Released from Detention in Psychiatric Hospital
Dissident journalist Dzamshid Karimov was reportedly released on November 6, 2011, following five years’ detention in a psychiatric facility. More
Writer Rafiq Tagi Dies in Hospital Following Violent Attack
Rafiq Tagi, an Azerbaijani writer and longstanding critic of political Islam, died after suffering multiple stab wounds in an attack in the Azerbaijani capital on November 19, 2011. More
Writer Sentenced to Imprisonment on “Politically Motivated” Charges
On November 24, 2011, human rights activist, writer, and Belarus PEN Member Ales Bialiatski was sentenced to four and a half years' imprisonment on charges of tax evasion. More
Writer Rafiq Tagi Receives Multiple Stab Wounds in Violent Attack
On November 19, 2011, writer and journalist Rafiq Tagi received multiple stab wounds in a violent attack carried out by two unidentified assailants as he was returning home from… More
Retrial of Blogger Maikel Nabil Sanad Repeatedly Postponed; Concerns for Health
Maikal Nabil Sanad remains detained pending a retrial for his critical online comments. More
Another Newspaper Office Attacked By Armed Gang
In the second of its kind in 10 days, the offices of the Mexican daily newspaper El Siglo de Torreón were attacked by at least three armed men on… More
PEN Statement on the Murder of Chechen Anti-Separatist Poet Ruslan Akhtakhanov
On November 15, 2011, Ruslan Akhtakhanov, a prominent Chechen poet, was shot dead in Moscow in what the authorities believe to be a contract killing. More
Support for the freedom to read with exclusive designs by Todd Parr, Mike Curato, Art Spiegelman, and more!
