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
ImprisonedPham Van Cho
Online CommentatorVietnamAsia-PacificAfter monitoring poet Pham Van Cho’s online activities for several years, Vietnamese authorities raided his home and made an arrest on January 30, 2024. The police had identified several of Cho’s Facebook posts which they deemed offensive and defamatory of the country’s leader. On July 11, 2024, the Hung Yen…
-
Status
ImprisonedPhan Cong Hai
Online CommentatorVietnamAsia-PacificIn November 2019, Phan Cong Hai was arrested for Facebook posts that were deemed “anti-state propaganda.” In a 2020 trial in which he did not have legal representation in court and that lasted only two hours, he was sentenced to a five-year prison term. He was charged under Article 117…
-
Status
ReleasedPhan Ngoc Tuan
Activist, Literary writer, PoetVietnamAsia-PacificDissident poet, cartoonist, and satirical columnist Tuan was arrested in 2012 and sentenced to 5 years in prison in relation to his work criticizing the communist authorities for human rights violations. He was released into probationary detention in August 2016. There has been no public information regarding his case since…
-
Status
Recorded HarassmentPierre Pierson Vilchez
Creative artist, Literary writer, Singer/SongwriterNicaraguaAmericasWriter and artist Pierre Pierson Vilchez was one of three PEN Nicaragua members to be subjected to harassment through the circulation of an anonymous video which identified them as behind a terrorist conspiracy against the Nicaraguan government. In April 2020, Vilchez participated in promoting literary culture by judging a children’s…
-
Status
Displaced/In ExilePinaki Bhattacharya
Activist, Literary writer, Online CommentatorBangladeshAsia-PacificBhattacharya is a prolific writer and blogger who is a vocal critic of the Bangladeshi government. He went into hiding in 2018 after being summoned by authorities for his coverage of violence against student protesters. In November 2022, he was reportedly sued for “anti–government propaganda.” In February 2024, he faced…
-
Status
Displaced/In ExilePınar Selek
Activist, Journalist, ScholarTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaA feminist writer, Selek has been prosecuted for over 20 years on false claims related to her involvement in a 1998 explosion in Istanbul. She currently lives in exile in France, where international organizations plan to appeal her case to the European Court of Human Rights. On June 22, 2022,…
-
Status
Displaced/In ExilePooyan Khoshhal Soustani
Activist, JournalistIranMiddle East and North AfricaJournalist, columnist, and activist Pooyan Khoshhal Soustani has long faced relentless harassment for his writing. He was arrested on October 24, 2018 for an opinion piece on health risks to Shi’a pilgrims and released after two months in detention. On August 29, 2019, Soustani fled to Türkiye where he and…
-
Status
Conditional ReleasePrabir Purkayastha
Activist, Editor, Journalist, Literary writerIndiaAsia-PacificPurkayastha is the founder of NewsClick, an independent news website, and a public intellectual. In October 2023, the NewsClick offices and his home were raided, in a wide sweep involving 46 journalists. He was then detained under an anti-terrorism law for allegedly receiving funding to spread pro-Chinese propaganda. Despite denying…
-
Status
DisappearedPrageeth Ekneligoda
Creative artist, JournalistSri LankaAsia-PacificCartoonist and columnist Prageeth Ekneligoda was last seen on January 24, 2010, in the suburbs of Colombo. In 2015, the case was transferred to the Criminal Investigations Department, which determined that Ekneligoda was abducted and killed by a military intelligence unit. While 9 military officials were indicted on kidnapping and…
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.