Press Releases
PEN America experts are available for interviews with the press. Please direct inquiries to Suzanne Trimel, Senior Advisor, Communications and Media, at [email protected].
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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
Sentence of Activist Pai Dao Din Manifestly Unjust, Attempt to Silence Critics of Thai Military Rulers
The sentencing of Thai democracy activist “Pai Dao Din” for nothing more than a Facebook post is another outrageous application of Thailand’s lèse-majesté law designed to silence critics of… More
Trump Administration Targets Critics in DOJ Search Warrant for Visitors to Protest Website
Reports that the Justice Department served a warrant on an internet company, demanding it turn over records that could be used to identify more than a million visitors to… More
Protecting Free Speech Rights of White Nationalist Protests in Charlottesville Does Not Require Us to Stay Silent
When the only way to ensure public safety is to shut down speech, all sides lose. More
Statement on the abduction and torture of Hong Kong activist Howard Lam
The kidnapping and mutilation of Hong Kong Democratic Party member Howard Lam, who was warned not to send a token of esteem to Chinese poet Liu Xia, is an… More
Israel Anti-Boycott Bill Runs Afoul of First Amendment
WASHINGTON – The “Israel Anti-Boycott Act,” currently pending in both chambers of Congress, raises significant First Amendment concerns and must be revised, PEN America said today. As written, the… More
Moves to Shutter Al Jazeera in Israel Threaten Press Freedom and Critical Speech
Moves by the Israeli government to shutter Al Jazeera’s presence in the country threaten to degrade press freedom in Israel and throughout the region and to conflate critical speech… More
Decision to Ban Uyghur Language in Xinjiang Schools an Attack on the Minority Group’s Linguistic and Cultural Rights
China’s decision to ban the use of Uyghur language in Xinjiang schools represents an attack on Uyghur linguistic rights, and an effort to tighten its stranglehold over the ethnic… More
Sedition Charges Against Thai Journalist Pravit Rojanaphruk a Deliberate Attempt to Punish Critical Expression
Charges of “sedition” levied against veteran Thai journalist Pravit Rojanaphruk for Facebook posts criticizing the military are an unjustifiable attempt to punish a journalist for his critical expression. More
Decision to Deport Journalist Ali Feruz (Khudoberdy Nurmatov) from Russia Puts Him at Risk of Torture and Must be Reversed
The Russian authorities must overturn the decision to deport journalist and asylum seeker Khudoberdy Nurmatov, who writes under the pen-name Ali Feruz, to Uzbekistan, where he is likely to… More
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