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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ImprisonedOmar Mohammadi
Literary writer, PoetIranMiddle East and North AfricaOmar Mohammadi, an Iranian Kurdish poet and literary writer, was arrested on June 18, 2025, during a home raid without a warrant and later released on bail in July 2025. In December 2025, he was sentenced to 5 years and 6 months in prison, with an additional suspended sentence of…
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ReleasedOmar Radi
Activist, Journalist, Online CommentatorMoroccoMiddle East and North AfricaOmar Radi is an award-winning investigative journalist and activist. He was detained for a few days on December 26, 2019 for a tweet criticizing the judicial system for upholding the verdict against protesters from the 2017 protest movement in Hirak el-Rif. On July 19, 2021, Riad was convicted of espionage…
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ReleasedOmar Shiboba
Creative artist, Singer/SongwriterSaudi ArabiaMiddle East and North AfricaA rapper and songwriter, Shaiboba was arrested in March 2022 for his songs that he had described as revolutionary and which were critical of the ruling authorities, following an online harassment campaign against him by pro-government trolls. His rap song criticized corruption and social injustices within the kingdom. Since his…
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ConvictedÖmer Aslan
Creative artistTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaIn 2018, popular satirist Aslan, known as Porçay on YouTube, was charged with encouraging the use of drugs for writing a satirical rap song, parodying another song. In February 2021, Aslan was sentenced to four years and two months in prison but remained out of custody pending appeal. His sentence…
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ImprisonedOmerjan Hasan
Journalist, Literary writerChina/Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous RegionAsia-PacificHasan, also known as “Bozqir” published essays, short stories, and articles aimed at the promotion of equal civil and political rights for Uyghurs. In April 2016, he was arrested and reportedly sentenced to fifteen years in prison. Hasan was also the administrator of the popular Uyghur language website “Bozqir.” No…
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Continued HarassmentOmoyele Sowore
Activist, Journalist, Online CommentatorNigeriaSub-Saharan AfricaOmoyele Sowore, a Nigerian-American political activist and journalist, was detained by police on December 2020 during a candlelight procession he had organized against bad governance in Nigeria. He was granted bail on January 12 on the condition he remain in the country and pay N20 million. On January 29, 2025,…
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DetainedOrkesh Abdurehim
Literary writer, Poet, ScholarChina/Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous RegionAsia-PacificOrkesh Abdurehim, a poet, author, and former teacher at Chapchal High School in Ili Prefecture, was arrested in September 2022 under unknown charges. Since then, he has been in detention, with no updates on his location or condition. Abdurehim is a father of two, and his family remains unaware of…
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ImprisonedOsama Khaled
Online Commentator, TranslatorSaudi ArabiaMiddle East and North AfricaOsama Khaled, a high-ranking Wikipedia volunteer administrator, had privileged access to edit protected pages. In 2020, he was arrested and sentenced to five years in prison, a sentence later increased to 32 years upon appeal. Reports suggest that Khaled and his colleague, Ziyad Al-Sofiani, edited pages of prominent dissidents and…
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Displaced/In ExileÓscar-René Vargas
Literary writer, ScholarNicaraguaAmericasFleeing into exile in 2018, the well-known sociologist and writer Vargas was arressted immediately upon his return to Nicaragua in November 2022. On December 13, 2022, Vargas was charged with “conspiracy to undermine national integrity.” After nearly three months of detention, Vargas was among 222 Nicaraguan political prisoners forcibly expelled,…
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.