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
ConvictedAhmet Telli
PoetTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaTelli is a poet whose work often focuses on Kurdish rights. He has faced persecution for his writing since the 1980s. In 2020, he was tried on false charges of “insulting the president” on social media. He was acquitted in January 2021. In October 2022, he was indicted for reciting…
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ConvictedAhmet Turan Alkan
Journalist, Literary writer, ScholarTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaAlkan, an author and Zaman newspaper columnist, has been facing harassment for his written work since 2016, when he was first arrested as part of the mass crackdown on media in Türkiye following the coup in July. Two years later, in July 2018, Alkan was sentenced to 8 years and…
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AcquittedAhnaf Jazeem
PoetSri LankaAsia-PacificJazeem was arrested on May 16, 2020 under the Prevention of Terrorism Act in relation to his book of poetry Navarasam, in which authorities claimed without basis that he demonstrated extremism. His trial was scheduled for December 8, 2020 but was postponed due to concerns related to COVID-19. On December…
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Continued HarassmentAi Weiwei
Activist, Creative artistChinaAsia-PacificAi has been harassed by the government for more than 10 years. Previously subject to a travel ban, Ai left China in 2015 to focus his activism on Europe’s refugee crisis, though Chinese authorities continue to pressure other countries to censor his work. Ai encounters resistance to his art installations…
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Conditional ReleaseAida Amidi
PoetIranMiddle East and North AfricaA poet and a member of the Iranian Writers’ Association, Amidi was arrested at her home and taken to an undisclosed location on December 5, 2022. After hours of intergations, she was accused of conspiracy and collusion with the intention of acting against national security, as well as propaganda against…
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Conditional ReleaseAigul Otepova
Online CommentatorKazakhstanEurope and Central AsiaBlogger Otepova was placed under house arrest in September 2020 and accused of supporting the Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK), labelled an extremist movement. She was forcibly brought to a psychiatric clinic and then released to house arrest. On April 29, 2021, Otepova was sentenced with 1 year of “restricted…
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Conditional ReleaseAkbar Azad
Activist, Journalist, Literary writer, PoetIranMiddle East and North AfricaAkbar Azad is a poet, activist, and journalist continuously targeted by authorities. First arrested after giving a speech for UNESCO in 2014, he has been detained and sentenced several times for promoting the minority Azeri language. He was detained in August 2021 and only conditionally released after posting bail. In…
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Displaced/In ExileAkbar Ganji
Journalist, Literary writerIranMiddle East and North AfricaJournalist and columnist Ganji was arrested in 2000 after writing articles about the 1998 Chain Murders, a series of killings in which which more than 80 Iranian dissident intellectuals were murdered or disappeared. After participating in a conference held in Berlin, he was charged with “damaging national security,” and sentenced…
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ImprisonedAkbar Imin
Online Commentator, ScholarChina/Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous RegionAsia-PacificImin, a student of Ilham Tohti, was arrested for his involvement with Tohti’s website Uyghurbiz, which aimed to promote understanding between Uyghurs and Han Chinese. In a secret trial in 2014, he was sentenced to 25 years for “forming a mafia group.” He has been held incommunicado since 2018. Although…
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.