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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Status
ReleasedPablo Rivadulla
Creative artist, Singer/SongwriterSpainEurope and Central AsiaAfter briefly evading authorities, Spanish rapper Rivadulla was arrested in February 2021 for insulting members of the royal family and “promoting terrorism” in his music and tweets. In March 2021, his sentence was extended by 16 months for refusing to pay the fines from his conviction; he also faces up…
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ImprisonedRahile Dawut
Literary writer, ScholarChina/Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous RegionAsia-PacificDawut, whose academic research focuses on Uyghur folklore and Islamic sacred sites across Xinjiang, was reportedly last heard from in December 2017. She was tried in 2018 on “splittism” charges and convicted. She later appealed the court’s decision but the appeal was rejected. After years of rumors about her sentencing,…
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ReleasedRuslan Chliebarodau
Online Commentator, Singer/SongwriterBelarusEurope and Central AsiaWriter of “Stop the Cockroach,” a popular anti-Lukashenka song, Chliebarodau was arrested in April 2023 and accused of “insulting public officials” and “disgracing the state power and governing bodies.” Complaints against him also included posting commentary on social networks. Pro-government Telegram channels posted a video of what appears to be…
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ReleasedSameh Haneen
JournalistEgyptMiddle East and North AfricaOn May 16, 2020, state security officers arrested Haneen, a freelance journalist and documentary producer, on charges of spreading false news, threatening national security, and joining a terrorist organization allegedly after producing video for Al-Jazeera. He is also known as a photographer and has worked extensively in journalism and documentary…
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ImprisonedSherwan Amin Sherwani
Journalist, Online CommentatorIraqMiddle East and North AfricaA columnist and online commentator known for his writing on corruption, Sherwani was first arrested in 2019 in connection to two articles he wrote. He was rearrested in October 2020 for allegedly collecting information on the KRG and passing it to foreign entities, and sentenced to 6 years in prison.…
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Displaced/In ExileSoleyana Gebremichael
Online CommentatorEthiopiaSub-Saharan AfricaGebremichael is one of the Zone 9 Bloggers, a group formed in 2012 to publish political commentary online in the face of tightening restrictions on expression. Following her initial arrest in 2014, she was acquitted of all criminal charges and released in 2015. She has since continued her advocacy in…
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Conditional ReleaseToomaj Salehi
Singer/SongwriterIranMiddle East and North AfricaIn January 2022, rapper Toomaj was given a six-month suspended sentence for “insult” and “propaganda.” He was arrested again in October and tortured. In July 2023, he was given 6 years and three months in prison. He was released on bail in November but rearrested and sentenced to another year.…
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Displaced/In ExileViktor Shenderovich
Journalist, Literary writer, Online CommentatorRussiaEurope and Central AsiaSatirist Shenderovich fled Russia after he was designated as a “foreign agent” in December 2021. He has lived in exile since, but faces continued repression. Reports emerged in 2022 and 2023 that various Russian libraries and booksellers refused to sell his works. He was denied entry to Georgia in June…
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MurderedWarsame Shire Awale
Creative artist, Dramatist, Poet, Singer/SongwriterSomaliaSub-Saharan AfricaAwale, a Somali poet, playwright, and journalist, was shot in Mogadishu in October 2012 after receiving threats for his work and critical views on Al-Shabaab, a militant islamist group based in Somalia. Despite the circumstances surrounding his death, no one has been arrested or prosecuted for his killing, and investigations…
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.