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
ReleasedRida Benotmane
Activist, Journalist, Literary writer, Online CommentatorMoroccoMiddle East and North AfricaRida Benotmane served a prison sentence from 2007 to 2011 for online posts. He was re-arrested on September 9, 2022 for various online comments, including Facebook posts calling for a public march against security force abuses and two YouTube videos denouncing authorities for ignoring demands for social justice. The next…
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On TrialRobert Kyagulanyi
Activist, Creative artistUgandaSub-Saharan AfricaMusician 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. Over the years, he has…
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Displaced/In ExileRobert Posada Rosero
Journalist, Literary writerColombiaAmericasAuthor of four short novels and a journalist, Rosero left Colombia for his safety after receiving three separate death threats in December 2021. Despite his requests, authorities have declined to provide protection. He continues his work in exile and is currently preparing the publication of a new book, El crimen…
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Displaced/In ExileRoberto de Jesús Quiñones Haces
Journalist, Literary writer, PoetCubaAmericasIn 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…
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ConvictedRoberto Saviano
Dramatist, Journalist, Literary writerItalyEurope and Central AsiaAuthor Saviano faces three criminal defamation lawsuits for his public remarks. The lawsuits were 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…
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ReleasedRodney Sieh
JournalistLiberiaSub-Saharan AfricaFounder 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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MurderedRodrigo Neto de Faria
Journalist, Literary writerBrazilAmericasOn March 8, 2013, Brazilian journalist Rodrigo Neto de Faria was killed in Ipatinga. At the time of his death, Neto was reportedly working on a book investigating several murders that were suspected to involve police officers. While the man who carried out the murder and the individual who hired…
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ReleasedRoland Marchal
Literary writer, ScholarIranMiddle East and North AfricaFrench 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. He later appeared on the…
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ReleasedRoman Sushchenko
Creative artist, JournalistRussiaEurope and Central AsiaA 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. Since his release, he has remained…
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.