Iran Steps Up Repression of Rights, with Harsh Prison Sentences for Writers and Artists and Reported Torture and Abuse in Custody
“The Iranian government is putting writers’ lives at severe risk through its brazen violation of basic human rights that include systematic abuse and torture in custody, coupled with fast-tracked… More
PEN America Calls for Release of Imprisoned Iranian Writers and Artists as Anti-Government Protests Land Dissident Voices in Jail
“This case, emblematic of a broader crackdown on the IWA–which has consistently championed the essential right to free expression for all Iranians–is among the most egregious of the Islamic… More
Joint letter calling for release of Arash Ganji and other IWA members in Iran
PEN America and its allies call on the Supreme Leader of Iran to urgently release filmmaker and poet Baktash Abtin and all unjustly detained for their writing or expression. More
UN Special Rapporteur on Iran Urged to Raise Imprisonment of Writers Arash Ganji and Reza Khandan Mahabadi, Being Held in Teheran on Wrongful Convictions
“Arash Ganji and Reza Khandan Mahabadi are in prison for their unequivocal commitment to writing and expression in Iran,” said Liesl Gerntholtz, director of the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write… More
PEN America Condemns Arrest of Iranian Writers and Translators, Another Attack on the Iranian Writers Associaton
"While the official justification for their arrest has not been announced, it is obvious that Iranian authorities have targeted Mohtadi and Asadollahi because of their vital contributions through writing,… More
Baktash Abtin, Keyvan Bajan, Reza Khandan Mahabadi | Status: Imprisoned | Iran
Baktash Abtin, Kevyan Bajan, and Reza Khandan Mahabadi are three celebrated writers, free expression advocates, and board members of the Iranian Writers’ Association (IWA). The three writers are serving… More
Iran Must Release those Unjustly Detained and Not Deny Medical Care to Prisoners, Says Coalition of Organizations led by PEN America
Today PEN America and eighteen other prominent human rights organizations sent a letter to the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, calling for the immediate and unconditional release of… More
Open Letter to Supreme Leader of Iran on Baktash Abtin
PEN America and its allies call on the Supreme Leader of Iran to urgently release filmmaker and poet Baktash Abtin and all unjustly detained for their writing or expression. More
PEN America Demands Release of Baktash Abtin
After contracting COVID-19 in prison for a second time, 2021 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write honoree Baktash Abtin is now in a medically-induced coma. More
After COVID-19 Infection, PEN America Demands Iran Release Imprisoned Writers
The literary and free expression groups PEN America and PEN Sydney issued an urgent call today for the immediate release of four Iranian writers being unjustly held in detention. More
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4 books are going back on shelves in Beaufort, SC, incl by @MargaretAtwood @halseanderson @StephenChbosky. But it's preposterous that 99 books were put into storage just b/c 1 parent put them on a list & made a demand. 95 more to review, still banished... https://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/education/article269483917.html
"This morning in Kyiv, writers Peter Godwin, Barbara Demick and Dave Eggers joined PEN America and @PenUkraine to release a report that reveals the extent of Putin’s assault," reports @RonCharles:
https://s2.washingtonpost.com/camp-rw/?trackId=632df5b342168b3d9554af75&s=638a141f9d88976ba3485edc&linknum=4&linktot=71 #Ukrain #UkraineRussianWar
PEN America is monitoring this situation at @GWtweets, which involves concerning allegations of protest rights violations.
https://www.gwhatchet.com/2022/12/01/students-for-justice-in-palestine-facing-disciplinary-charges-from-gw-after-protest/