2019 Literary Gala: Presentation of the 2019 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award
Watch the presentation of the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award at the 2019 PEN America Literary Gala & Free Expression Awards. More
Nasrin Sotoudeh | Status: In Prison | Iran
Nasrin Sotoudeh, a prominent writer, human rights lawyer and activist, was abruptly re-arrested on June 13, 2018, and taken to Evin prison. Her arrest came shortly after her legal… More
Ukrainian Filmmaker Oleg Sentsov Marks Five Years in Russian Prison
On this fifth anniversary of Oleg Sentsov's unjust detention, PEN America continues to call for his immediate and unconditional release. More
Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo | Status: Released | Myanmar
Prosecutors have charged the journalists with obtaining important and secret state documents relating to the crisis in Rakhine State, from which some 680,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled since August… More
The PEN Ten Interview: Ahmed Naji on Language, Identity, and Writing in Exile
"I don't want to be sad, or a prisoner of my own nostalgia. It's an excellent opportunity to be here, and I am thirsty. I want to learn everything,… More
Liu Jingsheng | Status: Released | China
Liu Jingsheng is a peaceful opposition activist and a former co-editor of Tansuo (Explorations), a journal he founded in the late 1970s along with Wei Jingsheng. More
DARE: 3 Saudi Women Activists Receive PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award
PEN America announces 2019 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award honorees: Saudi Writer-Activists and Women's Rights Champions Nouf Abdulaziz, Loujain... More
38-Year Sentence for Iranian Writer and Human Rights Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh Defies All Reason
“This astonishingly harsh sentence for Nasrin Sotoudeh defies all reason. After months of detention and a frustratingly opaque legal process, the decision to condemn Nasrin to decades behind bars for her… More
Conviction of Writer and Human Rights Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh a Grave Miscarriage of Justice
"After months of detention, the news announcing Nasrin Sotoudeh’s conviction on a range of national security charges and the possibility of a decades-long prison sentence is a cruel blow." More
Dozens of Writers, Artists, and Activists Demand Oleg Sentsov’s Release in Light of Hunger Strike
"The Russian Government has tried to silence Oleg Sentsov, but even from prison he continues to make his voice heard through words and actions—including this hunger strike—that demonstrate his enduring commitment to… More
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How YouTube erased history in its battle against white supremacy https://t.co/yuU3M59x9n
Trump directs agencies to cut advisory boards by 'at least' one-third.
Says @GretchenTG of the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union for Concerned Scientists (@UCSUSA): “It's no longer death by a thousand cuts. It's taking a knife to the jugular." https://t.co/lTnPXzzbke