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
DetainedNaseh Shaker
Journalist, Online CommentatoryemenMiddle East and North AfricaNaseh Shaker is a Yemeni journalist and columnist who has been detained since November 2023 after disappearing while traveling from Sanaa to Aden. He was later confirmed to be held at an STC-affiliated facility in Aden and is being prosecuted by the Specialized Criminal Appeals Prosecution on charges including incitement…
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ReleasedNasim Soltanbeygi
Activist, Journalist, Online CommentatorIranMiddle East and North AfricaSoltanbeygi is a reporter and labor activist. In January 2023, she was arrested at the airport and taken to an unknown location. In August, she was sentenced to three years and six months in prison for “propaganda” and “collusion” related to her reporting. She was transferred to prison in November…
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ImprisonedNasrin Sotoudeh
Activist, Literary writer, Online CommentatorIranMiddle East and North AfricaA human rights lawyer and prominent voice of conscience, Nasrin Sotoudeh has been targeted and jailed by the Iranian government for more than a decade for her activism and expression. After undertaking a gruelling hunger strike to protest prison conditions while serving a combined 38-year sentence handed down in 2019,…
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ReleasedNasrullah Lashani
Activist, Journalist, Online CommentatorIranMiddle East and North AfricaLashani, a Kurdish freelance journalist and political commentator, was released early from prison in 2019 but was re-arrested in June 2020 while trying to cross into Türkiye from Iraq and was brought back to Iran to face charges related to his writing. After being subject to interrogations and solitary confinement,…
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ImprisonedNasser bin Ghaith
Online Commentator, ScholarUnited Arab EmiratesMiddle East and North AfricaAfter tweeting criticism of the governments of Egypt and the UAE, Dr. bin Ghaith was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment in 2017. During his closed-door trial, the judge allegedly turned off his microphone to mute his claims of torture. His health has deteriorated in prison. In December 2023, he was…
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ReleasedNasser Laham
Journalist, Online CommentatorIsrael/Occupied Palestinian TerritoryMiddle East and North AfricaNasser Laham, a Palestinian journalist and editor-in-chief of Ma’an News Agency, was arrested by Israeli forces on July 7, 2025 during a raid on his home in the West Bank on allegations of “incitement” related to social media activity. His detention was briefly extended by an Israeli military court before…
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ReleasedNasser Zarafshan
Journalist, Literary writer, TranslatorIranMiddle East and North AfricaDistinguished lawyer and writer Zarafshan was arrested in 2000 after giving a speech alleging that the intelligence services had murdered five intellectuals in 1998. Though a civilian, he was tried before a military court and sentenced to five years in prison in 2002. In 2023, Zarafshan signed a public statement…
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Conditional ReleaseNassima Al-Sadah
Activist, Journalist, Online CommentatorSaudi ArabiaMiddle East and North AfricaNassima Al-Sadah is a columnist whose writing questioned largely the male guardianship system and advocated for greater rights for women across Saudi Arabia, including the right to drive. In late August 2018, Al-Sadah was arrested as part of a larger crackdown on women’s rights defenders in the Kingdom. On March…
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ReleasedNasta Karnackaja
Editor, Journalist, Online CommentatorBelarusEurope and Central AsiaNasta Karnackaja is a literary critic and columnist who runs the Telegram channel “Bellit” where she publishes book reviews and commentary. In May 2022, she assisted with the opening of a new Minsk bookstore, Knihauka, which was searched for “extremist” materials on its opening day. She was detained for “hooliganism”…
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.