Rapid Actions
CHINA: Concerns for well-being of poet and artist Liu Xia
PEN is deeply concerned for the health and well-being of poet, artist, and founding member of the Independent Chinese PEN Center, Liu Xia, following reports that attempts to contact… More
TURKEY: Uphold freedom of expression
A year ago, a bloody coup attempt in Turkey left over two hundred people dead and over a thousand others injured. While we recognize the right of the Turkish… More
PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Awardee Oleg Sentsov Turns 41 in Prison
July 13 marks the fourth birthday that Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov has spent incarcerated on charges trumped up to silence his opposition to the Russian annexation of Crimea. More
RUSSIA: Conviction of librarian must be quashed
On June 5, 2017, Natalia Sharina, former Director of the state-run Library of Ukrainian Literature in Moscow, was found guilty of "incitement of hatred" towards Russian people and "embezzlement"… More
United Arab Emirates (UAE): Arbitrary detention of prominent writer and human rights defender reaches three months
Ahmed Mansoor al-Shehhi (أحمد منصور الشحي), a 47 year-old Emirati citizen, was reportedly arrested by dozens of uniformed security agents who broke into his home in the city of Ajman.… More
CHINA: Writer and Nobel laureate released from prison on medical grounds
PEN is gravely concerned for the health of dissident writer, Independent Chinese PEN Center (ICPC) member and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Liu Xiaobo, following news of his diagnosis of… More
HONDURAS: PEN Honduras Member Convicted at Sentencing Court
On Wednesday June 7, 2017, Cesario Alejandro Félix Padilla Figueroa, a member of PEN Honduras, was found guilty of the crime of "usurpation" at the National Autonomous University of… More
VIETNAM: Charges Against Blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh Must Be Dropped
PEN calls on the Vietnamese authorities to drop all charges against blogger and government critic Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, also known by her pen name Me Nam (‘Mother Mushroom’),… More
AZERBAIJAN: Kidnapped journalist must be released immediately
PEN condemns the cross-border abduction and detention of Azeri investigative journalist Afgan Mukhtarli, who vanished from Georgia’s capital Tbilisi on May 29, 2017, and reappeared the following day in… More
UGANDA: Drop charges against academic
PEN welcomes the news that prominent feminist academic and activist Dr. Stella Nyanzi was released on bail on May 10, but continues to call for the charges against her… More
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