Writers at Risk Database
PEN America champions the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. The bedrock work of the global PEN network is advocacy and assistance on behalf of individuals persecuted for their use of the written word or other forms of expression. PEN America’s Writers at Risk Database is a searchable catalog of the writers, journalists, academics, public intellectuals and others under threat around the world. The database includes historical cases PEN America has worked on from 1987 onwards; non-active cases are color-coded black. PEN America is grateful to the John Templeton Foundation for support that enabled the establishment of the Writers at Risk Database and to PEN International for their collaboration in assembling this database.
Filters
-
Status
Recorded HarassmentMedhat Safwat
Activist, Journalist, Literary writer, ScholarEgyptMiddle East and North AfricaSawfat, who has written critically about fundamentalist groups’ strict interpretation of Islam, has faced verbal abuse and intimidation after each piece he has written. He was also formally admonished for ‘distorting the picture of Egypt’ after leading a seminar overseas. In 2022, he published a new book and presented his…
-
Status
ReleasedMozhgan Kavousi
Creative artist, Literary writer, TranslatorIranMiddle East and North AfricaKurdish writer and filmmaker Kavousi was arrested at her home in September 2022, and spent at least 35 days in solitary confinement. She was tried for “corruption on earth” among other charges, and was acquitted of corruption but sentenced to 5 years imprisonment on collusion and propaganda charges. She began…
-
Status
Recorded ThreatMuhammad Zafar Iqbal
Literary writer, ScholarBangladeshAsia-PacificIn March 2018, professor and writer Iqbal survived a stabbing incident on the campus of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST). The attack was linked to his outspoken views on various social issues. The assailant, Foyzul Hasan, was subsequently convicted under anti-terrorism laws and sentenced to life imprisonment in…
-
Status
MurderedNedim Yasar
Journalist, Literary writerDenmarkEurope and Central AsiaOn November 20, 2018, Yasar died after he was shot leaving the launch of his memoir Roots on his life as the founder of a gang who left in 2012 to then become a radio host and mentor. In 2020, two men—the shooter and the getaway car driver—were sentenced to…
-
Status
DetainedOrkesh Abdurehim
Literary writer, Poet, ScholarChina/Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous RegionAsia-PacificOrkesh Abdurehim, a poet, author, and former teacher at Chapchal High School in Ili Prefecture, was arrested in September 2022 under unknown charges. Since then, he has been in detention, with no updates on his location or condition. Abdurehim is a father of two, and his family remains unaware of…
-
Status
ImprisonedPerhat Halmurat
Online Commentator, ScholarChina/Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous RegionAsia-PacificHalmurat, a student of Ilham Tohti, was arrested for his involvement with Tohti’s website Uyghurbiz, which aimed to promote understanding between Uyghurs and Han Chinese. He was sentenced in a 2014 secret trial to eight years in prison and has been held incommunicado since 2018. He was held in Turpan…
-
Status
Conditional ReleaseReza Keshvari
Creative artist, Online Commentator, PoetIranMiddle East and North AfricaKeshvari is a poet, artist, and online commentator. He was arrested for participating in protests in October 2022. He suffers from multiple sclerosis which he was diagnosed with in summer 2022. He was sentenced to five years in prison on undisclosed charges, before being released in early 2023. Keshvari remains…
-
Status
ReleasedRoman Sushchenko
Creative artist, JournalistRussiaEurope and Central AsiaA Ukrainian journalist and artist who reported on Russian propaganda, Sushchenko was arrested in Moscow in September 2016 and sentenced to 12 years in prison for “spying.” He was released in September 2019 as part of a historic prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine. Since his release, he has remained…
-
Status
Conditional ReleaseSemiramis Babaei
Dramatist, Editor, Journalist, TranslatorIranMiddle East and North AfricaBabaei is an award-winning dramatist, journalist, translator, and literary writer. Her work includes plays, literary criticism, theater criticism, and social satire for magazines. She is also known for translating Tom Stoppard and F. Scott Fitzgerald, and compiling a widely referenced monologue anthology in 2018. She was arrested at her home…
Writers at Risk Database Key:
STATUS box that is red: Active case
STATUS box that is black: Inactive case
Funder
PEN America is deeply grateful to the John Templeton Foundation for its generous support of the Freedom to Write Index and Writers at Risk Database.
Partner
PEN America thanks the PEN International Secretariat and the Writers in Prison Committee for their extensive contributions to and collaboration on compiling the cases included in this database.