Zaki Cordillo

Playwright and key figure in the Puppet Theatre, Cordillo was arrested with his son in Damascus on August 11, 2012. He is reportedly detained for his writing on Syria,… More

Hussein Essou

Kurdish writer Essou was arrested from his home by Syrian Air Force intelligence agents for allegedly participating in anti-government activity and advocating reform in September 2011. As of December… More

Abduhadi Kasheet

Writer and journalist Kasheet was arrested in July 2013 by the Air Force Intelligence Branch of Aleppo. His death was first reported in October 2013, and was later reported… More

Adnan Zarra’ai

Playwright and scriptwriter Zarra’ai was arrested in February 2012 and was detained incommunicado in the State Security Detention Centre in Damascus. His rib was reportedly broken by torture.… More

Writers at Risk Database

Faraj Ahmad Birqdar

Syrian poet and activist Birqdar was arrested in March 1987 on suspicion of being a member of Syria’s Party for Communist Action. He was held without trial for 6… More

Zuhair Kutbi

Kutbi was imprisoned in January 2019 as part of a crackdown on dissident journalists. He had already served 2 years from 2015-2017 on charges of "inciting against the state."… More

Writers at Risk Database

Fahad Al-Fahad

Al-Fahad was arrested in April 2016 for violating Saudi cybercrime laws with tweets criticizing the Saudi criminal justice system and government corruption. He is currently serving a five year… More

Hatoon Al-Fassi

Al-Fassi is a historian of women’s history, author, columnist, and leading women’s rights activist. On June 27, 2018, Al-Fassi was detained as a part of a crackdown on women's… More

Nadhir Al-Majid

Al-Majid was arrested and sentenced to seven years in prison in January 2017 in connection with an opinion piece he wrote in 2011 titled “I protest, therefore I am,”… More

Marwan Almuraisy

Almuraisy was arrested and forcibly disappeared in June 2018. Though he was a prominent figure on social media, his disappearance puzzled observers because he was not involved in political… More