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
ImprisonedAleh Chamienka
Scholar, Singer/SongwriterBelarusEurope and Central AsiaAleh Chamienka is a musician and scholar. He is the frontman of Palac, a popular folk band. He is additionally a researcher specializing in folklore and semantics. Chamienka was arrested by Belarusian authorities in June 2025 for “collaborating with foreign media.” His trial began in February 2026. In March 2026,…
-
Status
ImprisonedNarges Mohammadi
Activist, Journalist, Literary writer, Online CommentatorIranMiddle East and North AfricaNarges Mohammadi, a human rights activist, author, journalist, and deputy director and spokesperson of the Defenders of Human Rights Centre (DHRC) in Iran, has been repeatedly targeted and arrested since 2009 by the Iranian authorities. She has spent more than 10 years of her life in prison. She was jailed…
-
Status
DetainedDawit Isaak
Dramatist, Journalist, Literary writerEritreaSub-Saharan AfricaCo-owner of the newspaper Setit, Swedish-Eritrean journalist and playwright Isaak has been detained incommunicado since 2001 as part of the government’s sweeping crackdown on print media following the September 11 attacks. Isaak has been reportedly tortured and held in solitary confinement, drawing grave concern for his health. Despite his dual…
-
Status
ImprisonedWai Moe Naing
Activist, Journalist, Literary writerMyanmarAsia-PacificA writer and member of PEN Myanmar, Wai Moe Naing rose to prominence as an anti-coup protest leader in Monywa for his role in organizing daily demonstrations. On April 15, 2021, he was beaten, arrested, and detained, and was handed down sentences in both August and October 2022. On April…
-
Status
Displaced/In ExileAles Bialacki
Activist, Literary writer, ScholarBelarusEurope and Central AsiaBialacki, a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, is a writer, literary critic, and head of human rights group Viasna. In July 2021, he was arrested on feigned tax evasion charges targeting his work to monitor human rights violations. He was detained on charges of “smuggling” and “ violating public order” by…
-
Status
ImprisonedIlham Tohti
Online Commentator, ScholarChinaAsia-PacificTohti, 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…
-
Status
ReleasedMustafa Sheta
Creative artist, Journalist, Online CommentatorIsrael/Occupied Palestinian TerritoryMiddle East and North AfricaSheta, known for his activism, is a columnist and producer at The Freedom Theatre. In early December 2023, the Israeli Army forces broke into and destroyed The Freedom Theatre and its offices during a raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank. They then stormed Sheta’s house and…
-
Status
DetainedAmanuel Asrat
Journalist, Literary writer, Poet, Singer/SongwriterEritreaSub-Saharan AfricaAmanuel Asrat, an esteemed Eritrean poet, journalist, and former editor-in-chief of Zemen newspaper, was arrested on September 23, 2001, amid a government crackdown on independent media. Since then, he has been detained without charge or trial, with his exact whereabouts and health status remaining unknown. He has published poetry, songs,…
-
Status
ImprisonedValery Pazniakievic
Journalist, Online Commentator, Poet, Singer/SongwriterBelarusEurope and Central AsiaPoet and bard Valery Pazniakievic was detained in August 2024 after posting political poems on social media. His poems were analyzed in the investigation against him and he was questioned for writing them in Belarusian as opposed to Russian. He received a series of fines over the next year totalling…
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.