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.
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Khandan Mahabadi, with two other members of the Iranian Writers’ Association, was arrested in May 2019 for opposing state censorship. An appeals judge upheld his six-year sentence, and the trio was summoned to Evin prison in September 2020. Released on a medical furlough in December 2021 after contracting COVID-19, he…
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On April 23, 2016, Siddique was murdered by Islamic militants. While his death by machete was similar to other secular bloggers, Siddique was not publicly critical of Islam and his death was instead perceived as an attack on non-religious academics.
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Zamora is a lyricist who frequently expresses critical ideas about the Cuban government in his music. On July 12, 2021, Zamora was arrested after participating in the 11J protests and later transferred to prison under the charges of public disorder, robbery with force, and disturbances. He was finally released on…
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Author and journalist Benotmane served a prison sentence from 2007 to 2011 for online posts. He was rearrested in September 2022 for Facebook posts and charged with multiple offenses including “disparaging public officials.” In November 2022, he was sentenced to three years in prison. His sentence was reduced to 18…
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Musician Bobi Wine has galvanized a generation of Ugandans to seek new leadership. He has opposed President Museveni’s policies and has been barred from performing his music. He is currently on trial for disobedience charges related to his protest of new tax laws in 2018.
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Author of four short novels, Rosero is also a journalist who has left Colombia for his own safety. He received three separate death threats in December 2021 and authorities have declined to provide protection to him. He continues to write in exile and is currently working on the publication of…
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In August 2019, Quiñones Haces was sentenced to one year in prison for his reporting and refusal to pay the fines levied against him for his writing. In March 2021, the IACHR, an independent human rights body, granted Quiñones Haces precautionary measures due to continued state surveillance and intimidation despite…
Writers at Risk Database Key:
STATUS box that is red: Active case
STATUS box that is black: Inactive case
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.
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.