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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Author Saviano faces three criminal defamation lawsuits for his public remarks brought against him by politicians, including former Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. On November 15, 2022, his trial for calling Prime Minister Meloni and the former Deputy Salvini “bastards” began in Rome. He potentially…
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Founder and editor of Liberian newspaper FrontPageAfrica, Sieh was fined over US$2 million for criminal libel and effectively sentenced to life in prison after publishing findings of government corruption. He was released and cleared of fines in 2013 after 4 months in jail.
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On March 8, 2013, Rodrigo Neto de Faria was killed in Ipatinga. At the time, Neto was reportedly writing a book investigating several murders with suspected police involvement. While his murderer and the man who hired him were imprisoned, no mastermind has been charged.
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French sociologist Dr. Marchal was detained in June 2019 when he traveled to Iran to visit his colleague Dr. Fariba Adelkhah. Both were charged with “collusion against national security” and held at Evin Prison. In March 2020, Dr. Marchal was released in a prisoner exchange.
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A Ukrainian journalist and artist who reported on Russian propaganda, Sushchenko was arrested in Moscow in September 2016 and sentenced to 12 years in prison for “spying.” He was released in September 2019 as part of a historic prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine.
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A poet and board member of the Iranian Writers Association, Sohani was arrested at his home on December 5, 2022. He was released on a 600 million tomans bail on December 26, 2022.
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He is the author of Tiananmen Exiles: Voices of the Struggle for Democracy in China. She also worked as a professor at several universities including Hong Kong University and Harvard University. In May 2023, her book was removed from all Hong Kong public libraries and her visa renewal to Hong…
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An online commentator and creator of the anonymous blog “Program Think,” Ruan often posted critical comments on his popular Twitter account about the Chinese Communist Party, and helped Chinese people, through his blog, circumvent government censorship online. He was arrested and detained in May 2021. He was convicted of “inciting…
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Espinosa was shot execution-style, along with four women, in Mexico City in July 2015. A photojournalist covering violence in Veracruz, he had fled to the capitol after receiving threats. Investigators have ignored the possibility of government involvement in the murders.
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.