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
On TrialSaw Wai
Activist, Creative artist, PoetMyanmarAsia-PacificSaw Wai, a lifelong activist and well-known poet, was charged in October 2019 with making defamatory statements at a public gathering in April after Myanmar’s military lodged a case against him. He remains on trial in connection with these allegations. In May 2021, the junta threatened to abduct Saw Wai’s…
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DetainedSayed Saber
Journalist, Literary writer, Online CommentatorEgyptMiddle East and North AfricaEgyptian journalist and writer Sayed Saber was arrested on November 26, 2024 for a Facebook post he published criticising the “facism of military rule” in Egypt. In the post, he sarcastically discussed the relationship between the military and civil authorities. His pretrial detention has been repeatedly extended ever since. He…
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ReleasedSayed Shehta
Journalist, Online CommentatorEgyptMiddle East and North AfricaAn editor and columnist at Youm7, Shehta was arrested by security forces on August 30, 2020 on unknown charges and held in pre-trial detention. Days earlier, he had tested positive for COVID-19 and was self-isolating. He lost consciousness during the arrest and was taken to an intensive care unit, where…
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Displaced/In ExileSayed Yusuf Almuhafdha
Activist, Journalist, Online CommentatorBahrainMiddle East and North AfricaSayed Yufu Almuhafdha is a Bahraini activist, journalist, and columnist who has faced continuous judicial harassment and threats, as well as various detentions, in Bahrain for his human rights work between 2011 and 2013. In 2014, he sought refuge in Berlin, Germany. In March 2024, Almuhafdha was made aware of…
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On TrialŞebnem Korur Fincancı
Activist, JournalistTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaFincancı, a human rights activist and expert, was arrested after serving as a guest editor for pro-Kurdish newspaper Özgür Gündem. Her acquittal was overturned in November 2020 and she was put on trial. She was detained in October 2022 for additional “terror propaganda” charges. She was released from detention in…
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On TrialSedef Kabaş
Journalist, Online CommentatorTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaTurkish journalist Sedef Kabas has faced multiple trials for “insulting the president” based on her social media posts and TV commentary. She was arrested on January 22, 2022, for remarks made on a TV show and temporarily released in February. In March 2022, she was sentenced to two years and…
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Conditional ReleaseSedigheh Vasmaghi
Activist, Literary writer, Poet, ScholarIranMiddle East and North AfricaVasmaghi was imprisoned in a sham trial in 2017 for her human rights work but was released on bail. In October 2020, she was sentenced to a year in prison for signing a letter against police brutality at protesters, added to her existing sentence for a total of six years.…
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ImprisonedSelahattin Demirtaş
Literary writerTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaWriter and pro-Kurdish politician Demirtaş has been unconstitutionally jailed since 2016. In March 2021, he was convicted for insulting President Erdoğan in remarks from 2015. In October 2022, he was sentenced to an additional two years and six months in prison for “targeting public officials.” He was sentenced to 42…
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Displaced/In ExileSelma Altın
Creative artist, Singer/SongwriterTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaSelma Altın sings in the activist collective and band Grup Yorum. Since the band’s inception, its critical songs have angered the Turkish government and members have faced serious threats. Altın was added to the “wanted terrorists” list by the Ministry of Interior in February 2018, and a reward of 300,000…
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.