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
DetainedSalman Al-Khalidi
Activist, Online CommentatorKuwaitMiddle East and North AfricaActivist Al-Khalidi was sentenced in absentia to 5 years of imprisonment for his tweets while he was studying in Qatar. He was pardoned in January 2023, but sentenced again in May for his online postings. He was sentenced to 3 years in September and 5 in November for false news,…
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Under ThreatSalman Rushdie
Literary writerUnited States of AmericaAmericasA former PEN America president, Rushdie is a well-known novelist who has written over 20 books. In 1989, he was the target of a fatwa issued by the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini after he wrote The Satanic Verses, and spent a decade in hiding. On August 12, 2022, Rushdie…
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Displaced/In ExileSaman Seydi Yasin
Singer/SongwriterIranMiddle East and North AfricaKurdish rapper Saman Yasin was abducted by security forces in October 2022 after releasing music supporting the Mahsa Amini protests. He was charged with “enmity against God,” a crime carrying the death sentence. He attempted suicide in December 2022. His appeal was accepted in the same month, but he faced…
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ImprisonedSamaneh Noruz Moradi
Activist, Online CommentatorIranMiddle East and North AfricaActivist Samaneh Noruz Moradi has been in and out of prison since 2018. In 2020, she was diagnosed with breast cancer while in jail, and was sent on medical leave with bail in 2021. Two years later, she was rearrested and charged with “propaganda against the regime” for her commentary…
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Recorded HarassmentSamantha Kureya
Creative artistZimbabweSub-Saharan AfricaArmed, masked men who identified themselves as police officers kidnapped comedian and satirist Kureya (known as Gonyeti) on August 21, 2019. They abused her in an unknown location, and rebuked her for mocking the government. She was found 3 hours later and went into hiding. She was forced to drink…
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ReleasedSameh Haneen
JournalistEgyptMiddle East and North AfricaOn May 16, 2020, state security officers arrested Haneen, a freelance journalist and documentary producer, on charges of spreading false news, threatening national security, and joining a terrorist organization allegedly after producing video for Al-Jazeera. He is also known as a photographer and has worked extensively in journalism and documentary…
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Custodial/Wrongful DeathSamira Ebrahimi
Online CommentatorIranMiddle East and North AfricaEbrahimi was a blogger who wrote online commentary in support of the Iranian protests. According to the Iranian Writers Action Committee, she was arrested on December 11, 2022 and taken into custody. She was beaten severely and taken to the hospital by authorities. She died as a result of her…
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ReleasedSan San Nwe
Activist, Journalist, Literary writerMyanmarAsia-PacificSan San Nwe, a Burmese novelist, journalist, and activist, was sentenced in 1994 to ten years imprisonment in relation to her activism and support for then-imprisoned politician Aung San Suu Kyi. She was released in 2001, having served seven years of her sentence.
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ReleasedSanaa Seif
Creative artist, Journalist, Literary writerEgyptMiddle East and North AfricaSeif, an opinion writer and filmmaker, went to Tora Prison to receive a letter from her brother, blogger Alaa Abd El Fattah, where she was attacked. When reporting the crime against her, Seif was abducted by plainclothes policemen. She was then detained on charges of “spreading false news,” “inciting terrorist…
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.