Yvan Godbout

In April 2019, Godbout was charged with producing and distributing child pornography for a passage from his novel Hansel et Gretel, a retelling of the fairytale, in which a… More

Writers at Risk Database

Javier Rebolledo Escobar

Rebolledo was charged with ‘serious insult’ in July 2018 after the publication of his work of non-fiction, titled in English Chameleon: The Double Life of a Communist Agent. He… More

Égide Harerimana

Short story writer and reporter Harerimana was arrested with other members of the Iwacu staff in October 2019 while investigating clashes between security forces and armed groups. In January… More

Writers at Risk Database

Jean-Claude Kavumbagu

The first online journalist imprisoned in sub-Saharan Africa, Kavumbagu has been arrested six times by six consecutive Burundi governments for dissident reporting. Most recently, he was jailed in July… More

Abdullah Benaoum

Benaoum has been repeatedly arrested since 2018 for criticizing the government both online and via protests. Arrested in late 2019, Benaoum was sentenced to multiple charges extending his imprisonment.… More

Abdelmoundji Khelladi

Khelladi publishes his writing about politics online and in independent outlets. He was covering a protest when officers arrested him on October 7, 2019, holding him in detention for… More

Writers at Risk Database

Mohammed Benchicou

Former director of daily newspaper Le Matin, Benchicou was arrested in 2003 on pretense of a currency violation. Though released in 2006, he was forced to shutter his newspaper… More

Mohammed Benchicou

Mohammed Benchicou | Status: Released | Algeria

Mohammed Benchicou is the former director of Le Matin, a private daily newspaper that maintained an independent, critical editorial line toward the Algerian government. On August 23, 2003, Benchicou was… More

Mykola Semena

Mykola Semena | Status: Released | Ukraine

Mykola Semena was convicted under the “separatist” Article 280.1 of the Russian Criminal Code, for publicly denouncing the Kremlin’s annexation of Crimea. He was handed a 2-year suspended sentence.… More

Necmiye Alpay

Necmiye Alpay | Status: Released | Turkey

Necmiye Alpay is a Turkish translator, editor, journalist and staunch defender of free expression More