PEN America Calls for Release of Writer Kakwenza Rukirabashaija
On December 28, 2021, award-winning writer Kakwenza Rukirabashaija was detained by Ugandan security forces and taken into unlawful detention without charges or explanation. More
PEN America Calls for Release of Ukrainian Theater Director Yevhen Lavrenchuk
PEN America called for the immediate release of Ukrainian theater director Yevhen Lavrenchuk, who has been detained in Italy since December 17 following an extradition request to Interpol from… More
PEN America Denounces the Upcoming Trial and Arbitrary Detention of Journalist and Human Rights Defender Pham Doan Trang
“The international community has made it abundantly clear that the ongoing detention of Pham Doan Trang is unacceptable,” said Karin Deutsch Karlekar, director of Free Expression at Risk Programs… More
China Must Release Ailing Journalist Who Covered COVID Outbreak
Chinese authorities must immediately release citizen journalist Zhang Zhan, who is reportedly “close to death” while on hunger strike in protest of her imprisonment for documenting and reporting the… More
PEN America Decries Arrests of Chinese Social Media Users Who Critiqued Film
PEN America today denounced the recent arrests of two Chinese social media users who made critical comments about The Battle of Changjin Lake, a state-sponsored blockbuster film set during… More
On One Year Anniversary of His Arrest, Vietnamese Writer Tran Duc Thach Must Be Freed
— On the one year anniversary of Vietnamese writer Tran Duc Thach’s arrest, PEN America reiterates its call for Vietnamese authorities to release him. More
Bangladeshi Cartoonist Released on Bail, But Charges Must Be Dropped
Imprisoned Bangladeshi cartoonist Ahmed Kishore was granted bail today on health grounds after nearly a year in detention. More
Amid Protest Crackdown in India, PEN America Calls for Protection of Free Expression
As protests have rippled across India in recent months, police have become increasingly violent and the government has taken drastic steps to limit information. More
Charges Against Jimmy Lai, Arrest of Haze Fan are Dual Blows Against Press Freedom
“Jimmy Lai is being treated as an enemy of the state for the apparent ‘crime’ of speaking his mind about the city he loves." More
Turkey Arrests 93 in Raid on Turkish Music Collective’s Cultural Center
“These arrests are yet another demonstration that freedom of expression does not exist for Turkish musicians whose lyrics criticize the government." More
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Today, POMED and 19 other rights orgs sent an open letter to @SecBlinken and @JakeSullivan46 urging them not to provide $300 million in FY2021 military aid to #Egypt in light of the country's failure to meet human rights conditions.
https://pomed.org/joint-letter-biden-administration-should-not-provide-military-aid-to-egypt-in-light-of-egregious-human-rights-violations/
Our next #BookDefenders event, How to Effectively Fight Against Book Bans, is happening on Wed Aug 17th at 8pm ET featuring @alainaskeys from @diversebooks, @jzfriedman from @penamerica, Christine Emeran and more ! Sign-up now at https://secure.everyaction.com/Q3z2V7PtwUiwOUTvuWuQAA2
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"What’s important is to stand up for the children who don’t have any voices. Even if you’re not in a county like Walton County... we all have to... start speaking out. We can’t leave it to marginalized groups to speak out. We all have to speak out"—Illustrator Marla Frazee
