Rakhim Esenov | Status: Deceased | Turkmenistan
Rakhim Esenov was charged in February 2004 with “inciting social, national, and religious hatred using the mass media,” which he has indicated refers to statements made by characters in… More
Francisco Valencia | Status: Continued Harassment | El Salvador
Editor of El Diario Co Latino, hailed by The New York Times as El Salvador’s “only independent newspaper,” Francisco Valencia continued to publish despite threats to the staff and… More
Khadija Ismayilova | Status: Conditional Release | Azerbaijan
Khadija Ismayilova is an award-winning freelance reporter who has worked for various Azeri-, Russian-, and English-language news outlets. More
2012 PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award Winner Eskinder Nega Freed After Almost Seven Years in Prison in Ethiopia
We are overjoyed that Eskinder has been freed, and call on the governments of Ethiopia and the United States to ensure that he can be speedily reunited with his… More
Chinese Writer Yang Tongyan Released on Medical Parole for Brain Tumor
News that Chinese dissident writer and 2008 PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award Winner Yang Tongyan was released on medical parole for brain cancer is another appalling reminder of… More
Faraj Ahmad Birqdar | Status: Released | Syria
Syrian poet Faraj Ahmad Birqdar spent over 13 years in jail from 1987 to 2000 due to his work on behalf of free expression and non-violent political action. He… More
Zoran Mutić | Status: In Exile | Bosnia and Herzegovina
Translator Zoran Mutić fled Sarajevo during the Balkan Wars of the 1990s, just before the siege in 1992. He was a recipient of the PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award in… More
Svetlana Slapšak | Status: In Exile | Serbia
Svetlana Slapsak, a Serb from Belgrade, is the author of the hugely popular novel Leon and Leonine. Slapsak has written articles criticizing Serbian nationalism and decrying injustices perpetrated by… More
Martha Kumsa | Status: Released | Ethiopia
Ethiopian writer and journalist Martha Kumsa was released from prison after several years of detention without charge or trial a few months after she received the PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom… More
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