Detailing Severe Human Rights Abuses in Belarus, Leaders Call on the UN Human Rights Council to Extend the Mandate of the Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Belarus
In Taped Reading, Author Margaret Atwood Reads Letter from her Belarusian Translator About the Arrests and Jailing of Writers, Journalists and Publishers By Suzanne Trimel (NEW YORK)-- The severe deterioration of… 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
Communication to the UN Commission on the Status of Women on the Persecution of Iranian Women’s Rights Defenders
We joined Iranian human rights organizations to alert the UN CSW to the persecution and prosecution of women human rights defenders in Iran. More
The PEN Pod: The Propagation of Disinformation and Protocols of Protest with Suzanne Nossel
“It’s an ecosystem—a dysfunctional, polluted ecosystem. Within that ecosystem, among the most powerful actors—no question about it—are the social media companies.” More
Saudi Official’s Death Threat Against UN Investigator Shows “Outright Lawlessness”
It is hardly surprising that the regime behind his killing would view her work as a threat, but the horrifying revelation that a Saudi official threatened to murder Callamard… More
PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel Testifies in the House on Human Rights and Saudi Arabia
“The regime’s determination to hunt down dissenters wherever they are instills a sense of fear from which there is no escape, even far beyond Saudi borders.” More
In Letter to the UN, Imprisoned Iranian Writer Nasrin Sotoudeh Protests Executions
In this letter, jailed Iranian writer Nasrin Sotoudeh appeals to the UN and the global community to pay attention to the unjust executions taking place in her country. More
PEN America Appeals to UN on Behalf of Detained Chinese Writer
"We will continue to advocate for Xu until he is released, and we continue to call upon the Chinese government to drop these abusive and politically-motivated charges against him.” More
Statement by PEN to the 65th UN Commission on the Status of Women
PEN is concerned about women facing harsh consequences for their expression to advance women’s rights, equality, and full participation in civic life. More
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Here are some of the latest ways PEN America is speaking out. https://pen.org/pen-america-news/
Another bit of sound legal judgement this week, from TX, where a judge found that conservative library board members had likely exercised unconstitutional content-based restrictions when banning books from the Llano public library. The books ordered back.
https://www.texastribune.org/2023/03/31/texas-llano-library-books/
Talking to @AliVelshi, historian @TimothyDSnyder likens book bans in #Florida to Communism: “All this stuff is supposed to be anti-communist but as a historian of communism, that reminds me of some of the basic things that were wrong about communism.” https://www.huffpost.com/entry/yale-professor-ron-desantis-book-bans_n_642696c7e4b02a8d518df5a9