Join Donate Now

Open search

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.

A woman with long hair, seen from behind, raises her hand in a victory sign in front of a burning barrel on a street. Cars are parked nearby. A close-up of a pen writing text overlays part of the scene. Red and black colors dominate the composition.

Filters

  • Status

    Imprisoned

    Xu Zhiyong

    Activist, Literary writer
    China
    Asia-Pacific

    Xu, 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 June…

    Read More

    A person with closely cropped hair and a blue checked shirt rests their chin on their hand, looking thoughtful and serious against a neutral background.

  • Status

    Imprisoned

    Ilham Tohti

    Online Commentator, Scholar
    China
    Asia-Pacific

    Tohti, an influential Uyghur writer and economist, co-founded the website Uyghurbiz. He was arrested at Beijing airport in January 2014, and found guilty of separatism and sentenced to life imprisonment in September 2014. Tohti had endured years of repeated instances of harassment and detentions for his peaceful advocacy for the…

    Read More

    A man sits at a table in a room with light-colored walls, looking toward the camera. A framed picture of a woman with a musical instrument hangs on the wall behind him. The image is in black and white.

  • Status

    Imprisoned

    Zhang Xiaodong

    Online Commentator
    China
    Asia-Pacific

    Online commentator Zhang was arrested by the Chinese authorities and charged with “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” for comments he made on WeChat, Moments, and QQ chat groups. Zhang was discussing topics related to democracy. He has been in detention awaiting trial since November 15, 2022. In May 2024, he…

    Read More

  • Status

    Released

    Liu Yanli

    Activist, Online Commentator
    China
    Asia-Pacific

    Blogger Liu, who has written about politics and democracy on WeChat since 2009, was detained in 2018 after a six-month period of residential surveillance. he was detained after social media posts criticizing CCP and PRC government officials. She was sentenced to four years in prison in May 2020 for “picking…

    Read More

  • Status

    Displaced/In Exile

    Liu Xia

    Creative artist, Poet
    China
    Asia-Pacific

    After her husband Liu Xiaobo won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010 for calling for political reforms in China, poet Lu Xia was held incommunicado under extralegal house arrest. Following a global campaign, in July 2018 she was allowed to leave China for Germany. In July 2024, Kyodo News reported…

    Read More

    A person with a shaved head, wearing glasses and a checkered scarf, looks toward the camera with a slight smile. The background is softly lit and out of focus.

  • Status

    Detained

    Xie Yang

    Online Commentator
    China
    Asia-Pacific

    Lawyer Xie Yang, known for representing many pro-democracy and human rights protestors, is outspoken on social media including Weibo, WeChat, and Twitter where he routinely criticises China’s political and judicial system. In 2022, he was arrested and indicted on charges of “inciting subversion of state power” due to social media…

    Read More

  • Status

    Imprisoned

    Yuyu Dong

    Journalist, Literary writer, Scholar
    China
    Asia-Pacific

    A columnist and essayist who wrote for the New York Times Chinese-language website between 2012 and 2014, Yuyu was arrested and charged with espionage in April 2023. He was branded as “anti-socialist” for an essay he wrote. In November 2024, Dong was sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage…

    Read More

  • Status

    Imprisoned

    Wang Yi

    Poet
    China
    Asia-Pacific

    In January 2020, preacher and poet Wang Yi was sentenced to nine years in prison for inciting subversion of state power after being held incommunicado with his wife since March 2019. He was initially detained in December 2018 during a crackdown on house church leaders. Wang has faced ongoing harassment…

    Read More

  • Status

    Deceased

    Li Liqun

    Literary writer, Online Commentator, Poet
    China
    Asia-Pacific

    Li Liqun was an esteemed blogger and writer well-known by his pen name Li Huizi who blogged about fairness and justice and wrote poetry. Li took his own life on July 23, 2021, an act that came after years of being surveilled and harassed by the Chinese Communist Party. Li…

    Read More

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.