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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PEN Applauds New Law Expanding Iraqi Refugee Processing
President Bush has signed PEN-supported legislation that requires the United States to expand programs to resettle Iraqi refugees in the U.S., removing some of the major barriers that have… More
Two Releases, One Conviction, One Indefinite Detention
PEN today welcomed the release on parole of Hong Kong-based journalist Ching Cheong from prison in Gangzhou, southern China, where he was serving a five-year sentence for espionage. The… More
Li Changqing Released from Prison in China: Number of Jailed Writers Drops to 40
New York, February 4, 2008—PEN American Center welcomes the news that Fuzhou-based journalist Li Changqing was released upon expiration of his three-year sentence on February 2, 2008. More
James Risen Subpoenaed over Source for Book
PEN American Center today expressed concern over reports that Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist has been issued a subpoena in an effort to compel him to reveal confidential… More
Pamuk Prosecutor Arrested, Charged in Plot
Kemal Kerincsiz, the lawyer who tried to prosecute Orhan Pamuk, Hrant Dink, Elif Shafak, and several other writers for “insulting Turkishness,” has been arrested with 32 others following an… More
PEN Marks First Anniversary of Murder of Armenian-Turkish Journalist
PEN, the international association of writers, is supporting the “Hrant Için, Adalet Için” (For Hrant, For Justice) campaign organized by a consortium of Turkish organizations staging events in Istanbul… More
PEN Concerned About Terms of Release of Cyber-Dissident in China
After one month in detention, Chinese internet writer and dissident Wang Dejia (pen name Jing Chu) was released on January 12, 2008 after agreeing not to write anything political… More
Activist Hu Jia Arrested in China: Number of Jailed Writers Rises to 42
The arrest last week of high-profile activist and blogger Hu Jia in Beijing is raising concerns that the Chinese government may be ratcheting up its efforts to control internal… More
PEN Condemns New Detention of Cyber-Dissident in China
Writers in the United States and Canada joined Chinese colleagues today in condemning China’s latest detention of a dissident for online commentaries about human rights in China. With the… More
Chinese Police Preventing Prominent Chinese Writers from Meeting in Beijing
Chinese police have detained two writers and issued warnings and posted guards outside the homes of dozens of others to prevent the Independent Chinese PEN Center from holding an… More