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
ImprisonedXu Zhiyong
Activist, Literary writerChinaAsia-PacificXu Zhiyong, a noted essayist and public intellectual, had for decades advocated for good governance and citizen engagement through his writing. In February 2020, he was detained amid a crackdown on activists critical of Chinese government policies who had gathered in late December 2019. He was tried in secret in…
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ImprisonedIlham Tohti
Online Commentator, ScholarChinaAsia-PacificIlham Tohti, an influential Uyghur writer and economist, co-founded the website Uyghurbiz. In September 2014, following repeated instances of harassment and detention, he was found guilty of separatism and sentenced to life imprisonment. Since 2017, he has been held incommunicado. PEN America’s Advocacy September 23, 2024: PEN America, in collaboration…
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ImprisonedTian Qizhuang
Journalist, Literary writer, TranslatorChinaAsia-PacificColumnist and literary writer Tian was arrested in August 2022 after publishing two letters about the dangers of worshiping of Xi Jinping, President of China. He was accused of “colluding with foreign forces,” and was sentenced to 2 years imprisonment in December 2022.
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ImprisonedQin Yongmin
Activist, Journalist, Literary writerChinaAsia-PacificQin Yongmin is a writer, activist, and the co-founder of the Democratic Party of China. On May 6, 2015, he was arrested for inciting subversion of state power. In 2018, Qin was sentenced to thirteen years’ imprisonment and three years’ deprivation of political rights.
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ImprisonedWang Yuwen
Online Commentator, PoetChinaAsia-PacificPoet Wang Zang was taken by police from his home in Chuxiong City in May 2020 and charged in July with “incitement to subvert state power.” Evidence against him includes his poetry and essays. His family has reportedly been harassed and detained to compel him to confess. In November 2022,…
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ImprisonedWang Gang
Online CommentatorChinaAsia-PacificWang, known as Noah’s Ark, is a former associate professor at Hubei University of Technology who created multiple WeChat groups since 2018 including “Shanghai People’s Rights Defending” and “Chinese People’s Rights Defending,” in which he posted commentary calling the Chinese Communist Party to fight corruption. He was arrested in May…
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ImprisonedYang Hengjun
Literary writer, Online Commentator, ScholarChinaAsia-PacificChinese-born Australian writer Yang was seized by Chinese authorities during a visit to China in January 2019. Held incommunicado and interrogated for nearly two years, he was formally charged with espionage in late 2020 and his closed-door trial was held in May 2021. In February 2024, he was given a…
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DetainedSophia Huang Xueqin
Activist, Journalist, Online CommentatorChinaAsia-PacificHuang was detained in October 2019 after publicly supporting sexual assault survivors and creating a platform to promote survivor solidarity. She was released in early 2020, but police kept her passport and continued to surveil her. On September 19, 2021, Huang went missing before a flight; eight days later, RFA…
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DetainedHai Zhang
Journalist, Online CommentatorChinaAsia-PacificHai is a journalist and online activist. He was arrested and forcibly disappeared in February 2023 after expressing support for the “white-hair-movement,” an elderly group protesting health care reforms. In April 2023, Hai was charged with “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.”
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.