Free Expression in China Drowning Under Waves of Writer Arrests
PEN American Center is alarmed by a spike in arrests of writers, journalists, and intellectuals in China in recent weeks. According to reports, four prominent intellectuals were arrested on… More
PEN Deplores Upholding of Life Sentence for Ilham Tohti
Today, PEN received the devastating news that Ilham Tohti’s life sentence has been upheld by a closed court in China. More
Hundreds Rally in New York for Release of Ilham Tohti
"Tohti is exactly the kind of influential moderate the Chinese government should have courted in their professed efforts to build social harmony,” said Dominic Moran, Director of Free Expression… More
MONDAY: Candlelight Vigil for Ilham Tohti
On Monday night, PEN American Center will host a public candlelight vigil for Ilham Tohti, the Uyghur writer and scholar who was sentenced to life in prison on September… More
Chinese Court Sentences Uighur Scholar to Life in Separatism Case
“It’s not just! It’s not just!” he yelled as police officers dragged him from the courtroom, his lawyer, Li Fangping, said. More
Ilham Tohti Sentenced to Life in Prison
A writer, scholar, and leader in Uyghur PEN, Ilham Tohti founded Uyghur Online, a forum for dialogue between China’s Muslim Uyghur minority and majority Han populations. He was arrested… More
Send a Message of Solidarity to Ilham Tohti’s Family
Ilham Tohti, the 2014 PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award Winner, is serving a sentence of life in prison in China. More
Tohti Trial a ‘Farce,’ Says PEN American Center
Ilham Tohti, a scholar and writer who should have been a welcome ally in China’s efforts to build a harmonious society, instead faces more than a decade in… More
This Week in Free Expression: August 1, 2014
While China clamors to control speech nationwide, the U.S. surveillance apparatus tries to maintain its programs despite a blow to the CIA this week. More
PEN Condemns Indictment of Ilham Tohti on Charges of Separatism
The government claims an aim to discourage violence, but the denial of peaceful means of expression risks having the exact opposite effect. More