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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

    Conditional Release

    Azamat Nuratdinov

    Journalist, Online Commentator
    Uzbekistan
    Europe and Central Asia

    Azamat Nuratdinov is an Uzbek blogger and reporter for El Khyzmetinde who was arrested in July 2022 and charged with inciting riots through distribution of propagandistic material. On January 31, 2023, Nuratdinov was convicted of “distribution of materials harmful to public safety” and “using the media, including the internet.” He…

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  • Status

    Released

    Bülent Şık

    Literary writer, Scholar
    Türkiye
    Europe and Central Asia

    A writer, food engineer, and environmental activist, Şık was indicted in 2018 after he wrote articles discussing the results of a government study of pollution. In 2019, he was convicted and sentenced to 15 months in prison for disclosing secrets of duty, but remained free on appeal. In April 2021,…

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    A middle-aged man with glasses, wearing a white short-sleeved shirt, sits at a table and smiles at the camera against a plain, light-colored background.

  • Status

    Imprisoned

    Danat Namazbaev

    Online Commentator
    Kazakhstan
    Europe and Central Asia

    Namazbaev is a blogger and economist who uses Facebook to post political commentary that is critical of Russia, including its war on Ukraine. He was arrested with Marghulan Bornabai in 2020. He was charged with “inciting ethnic hatred,” and was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison on March…

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  • Status

    Displaced/In Exile

    Dariush Memar

    Activist, Journalist, Online Commentator, Poet
    Iran
    Middle East and North Africa

    After posting and commenting on a video showing a woman in Abadan city being beaten and injured by an Iranian security agent, Dariush Memar was summoned by the Khuzestan Province’s Criminal Court 1 on September 14, 2020. On January 20, 2021, Memar was summoned again, this time to appear at…

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  • Status

    Released

    Elchin Hasanzade

    Activist, Online Commentator
    Azerbaijan
    Europe and Central Asia

    In May 2020 the head of the Mingachevir Public Utilities Department filed a lawsuit against blogger Hasanzade and Ibrahim Salamov for writing articles that speculated about corrupt practices in the department. The pair was sentenced to community service for “slander” and “defamation”; however, on appeal in March 2021, their sentence…

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  • Status

    Convicted

    Fazel Torkaman

    Literary writer, Poet
    Iran
    Middle East and North Africa

    Torkaman is an author and poet of ten published works including The Girl Who Wiped My Tears. He was summoned to court and then arrested before being immediately released on a 500 million toman bail. He was later charged with “propaganda against the regime” and denied legal representation. Torkaman was…

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  • Status

    Displaced/In Exile

    Gioconda Belli

    Literary writer, Poet
    Nicaragua
    Americas

    Writer and poet Belli was one of three PEN Nicaragua members to be subjected to harassment through the circulation of an anonymous video which identified them as behind a terrorist conspiracy against the Nicaraguan government. Belli went into exile in February 2022, splitting her time between Spain and the United…

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    A woman with long, curly hair sits at a table, smiling, in front of a microphone. She is wearing a light-colored top and is seated against a dark curtain background. A glass of water and papers are in front of her.

  • Status

    Detained

    Hany Babu

    Literary writer, Scholar
    India
    Asia-Pacific

    A professor of English literature and language, Babu faces charges of “propagating” communist activities, Maoist ideologies, and plotting anti-state attacks as part of the baseless Bhima Koregaon case, under which authorities detained numerous writers and intellectuals. He was hospitalized for a severe eye infection in May 2021 after being repeatedly…

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    A man with gray hair and glasses, wearing a pink and white striped shirt, smiles while standing outdoors with trees and greenery in the background.

  • Status

    Deceased

    Huang Zerong

    Activist, Literary writer
    China
    Asia-Pacific

    Veteran writer Tie has been targeted by the Chinese government for decades. For his criticism of former Chairman Mao Zedong online and for undisclosed reasons, Tie has been in and out of detention since 2014. In March 2019, he was released from house arrest. Tie Liu was celebrated for his…

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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.