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
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MurderedAbdullah Atefi
Literary writer, Poet, ScholarAfghanistanAsia-PacificAbdullah Atefi, a historian, writer, and poet, was a public figure whose extensive body of work focused on Pashtun culture and literature and was regularly featured in regional publications. Atefi was taken from his home in Afghanistan’s Uruzgan province and murdered on August 4, 2021; reports say he was also…
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Recorded HarassmentAhdaf Soueif
Literary writerEgyptMiddle East and North AfricaA prominent novelist, Soueif was arrested on March 18, 2020 for protesting for the release of Egyptians left vulnerable to coronavirus in overcrowded prisons and faced charges of “illegal assembly.” She was released the following day on March 19, 2020 after being detained for 30 hours. Since her release, she…
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MurderedAlaa Mashzoub
Literary writerIraqMiddle East and North AfricaOn February 2, 2019, Mashzoub, a prominent novelist, was murdered by an anonymous motorcycle gunman in Karbala. Prior to his death, Mashzoub was a vocal critic of Iraqi religious sectarianism and his killing is suspected to be related to his online posts critical of Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini and its involvement…
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ImprisonedAli Aracı
Creative artist, Singer/SongwriterTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaMusician Aracı is a member of activist collective and band Grup Yorum who plays the flute and kaval. The band has angered Turkish authorities and members face serious threats. Aracı was arrested in June 2019, and released in September 2020, but rearrested and released the following month. He was again…
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AcquittedAras Amiri
ScholarIranMiddle East and North AfricaAmiri showcased work by Iranian artists at the British Council in the U.K. Upon visiting Iran, she was sentenced to ten years in prison on alleged espionage charges. Temporarily released during the COVID-19 pandemic, her sentence was upheld in May 2020, and she was ordered back to prison. In July…
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Conditional ReleaseAzamat Nuratdinov
Journalist, Online CommentatorUzbekistanEurope and Central AsiaAzamat 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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ReleasedBülent Şık
Literary writer, ScholarTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaA 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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ImprisonedDanat Namazbaev
Online CommentatorKazakhstanEurope and Central AsiaNamazbaev 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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Displaced/In ExileDariush Memar
Activist, Journalist, Online Commentator, PoetIranMiddle East and North AfricaAfter 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…
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.