Call for Egyptian Government to Immediately Release Poet Galal El-Behairy, Following Reported Suicide Attempt
Justin Shilad, PEN America’s Middle East and North Africa research and advocacy lead, said: “The Egyptian government is responsible for Galal El-Behairy’s health and safety behind bars, just as… More
Unjust Prison Sentence in Algeria Against Scholar and Writer Raouf Farrah and His Father
“This unjust sentence against Raouf Farrah and his father illustrates how far the Algerian government is willing to go to stamp out critical commentary and independent scholarship. By handing… More
PEN America Condemns China’s Arrest of Exiled Mongolian Writer and Historian Lhamjab A. Borjigin
These efforts infringe on the rights to freedom of opinion and belief, cultural expression, and education, protected by Chinese and international law. The arrest on Mongolian soil and immediate… More
Open Letter Calls for Probe of Inhumane Treatment of Imprisoned Chinese Writer
Angeli Datt, PEN America’s China research and advocacy lead, said: “The reports of the treatment of Mr Lü Gengsong in prison are troubling and we call for an immediate… More
PEN America Welcomes ‘Safekeeping Status” for Texas Prisoner-Journalist Whose Reporting Put His Safety at Risk
Moira Marquis, senior manager of PEN America’s Freewrite Project, expressed gratitude for supporters across the country who wrote to the Texas prison authorities on behalf of Walker. She said:… More
Sentencing of Poet Wang Zang and His Wife to Prison in China Shows “Repressive Environment” for Free Expression, as PEN America Calls For Their Release
“We condemn the sentencing of Wang Zang for exercising his freedom to write, and of his wife Wang Liqin whose only apparent ‘crime’ was advocating for her husband’s rights,”… More
PEN America Condemns Transfer of Vietnamese Writer Pham Doan Trang to Remote Prison
“From Pham Doan Trang’s lengthy incommunicado detention to the wholly disproportionate and unjustified sentence of nine years in prison handed down in her case last year, it comes as… More
PEN America “Appalled” by Conviction of Writer Tsitsi Dangarembga Linked to Peaceful Protest in Zimbabwe
“Tsitsi Dangarembga was arrested for exercising her right to peaceful protest. Her arrest and the long drawn out trial against her is clearly intended to send a frightening message… More
PEN America Calls for the Immediate Acquittal and Release of Mongolian Activist Munkhbayar Chuluundorj Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Protesting China-Mongolia Relations
“The harsh and unjust verdict in Munkhbayar Chuluundorj’s trial is a grave violation of the fundamental right to free expression,” says Liesl Gerntholtz, director of the PEN/Barbey Freedom to… More
PEN America Statement on the Death of Reza Baraheni: A Legacy of “Courage and Defiance”
PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel said: "The international writing community has lost a giant of free expression and human rights with the death of former PEN Canada president, author,… More