PEN America 2021 Freedom to Write Index: Myanmar Joins China and Saudi Arabia as World’s Top Jailers of Writers
During 2021, Myanmar accounted for the single-largest increase of writers and public intellectuals newly jailed for exercising free expression, due to the military junta’s crackdown on influential voices. More
Hrant Dink | Status: Murdered | Turkey
Hrant Dink is editor-in-chief of the Armenian-Turkish weekly newspaper Agos, a paper that seeks to provide a voice to the Armenian community and create a dialogue between Turks and… More
Ahmet and Mehmet Altan | Status: On Trial | Turkey
Ahmet and Mehmet Altan were arrested in September 2016, as part of a wave of arrests of thinkers, writers, and journalists following the 2016 failed coup. More
PEN America Welcomes Chance to End Bogus Campaign Against Writer Orhan Pamuk
Today PEN America expressed relief that Turkey’s Ministry of Justice requested the end of legal proceedings against novelist and Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk. More
PEN America Demands Turkey Explain or Drop Charges Against Detained Musician
The arrest of Omar Souleyman may be the latest example of Turkey using charges of terrorism to silence artists. More
Reopening of Criminal Investigation Into Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk is Egregious Move to Silence Writers in Turkey
The reopening of a criminal investigation into Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk for writing in his latest novel Nights of Plague is an egregious attempt by Turkish authorities to silence… More
Turkey: Charges Against Kurdish PEN Member Must Be Dropped
PEN is deeply concerned for the well-being of Kurdish PEN member, writer and poet Meral Şimşek, who is facing up to 20 years on two separate charges. PEN believes… More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Zülfü Livaneli
“I have no regrets about my work. I wouldn’t want to change a single word I’ve written. . . . I’ve been sentenced several times because of [my] poem,… More
Five Years Post-Coup Attempt, Turkey’s Writers Face Ever-Deepening Crackdown on Free Expression
In the five years since a coup attempt in Turkey, the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has orchestrated a repressive, society-wide crackdown that has dramatically limited free expression… More
Cracking Down on Creative Voices: Turkey’s Silencing of Writers, Intellectuals, and Artists Five Years After the Failed Coup
PEN America outlines the legal mechanisms that the Turkish government has used to silence writers, activists, artists, academics, and creative professionals. More
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