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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Hussain is one of the “Miya” (Bengali-language Muslim) poets charged in July 2019 after the online publication of a poem by Hafiz Ahmed that authorities claimed promoted sectarian enmity in the state of Assam. On July 17, 2019, all ten poets were granted anticipatory bail.
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On February 15, 2016, Manik was arrested after an extremist religious group threatened to hold protests over a book he published that was deemed offensive to Islam. Since October 2016, he had been awaiting trial out of custody. On January 23, 2020, he was acquitted of the charge, but he…
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Sheng is a Chinese-Canadian author, a PEN Canada member, and a prominent human rights activist. She wrote three books in 2001 and 2008, all of which were banned in China. She was a victim of identity theft in 2019 and reported that she has faced multiple instances of harassment throughout…
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In September 2022, Hajipour was arrested on charges of “propaganda against the regime” and “incitement.” His popular song, “Baraye (For)” which had become a protest anthem, was removed from social media. He was released on bail in October. In January 2024, he was summoned by the authorities again after releasing…
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A columnist and online commentator known for his writing on corruption, Sherwani was first arrested in 2019 in connection to two articles he wrote. He was rearrested in October 2020 for allegedly collecting information on the KRG and passing it to foreign entities, and sentenced to 6 years in prison.…
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In 2005, Shi was sentenced to 10 years in prison for leaking a Communist Party document to an overseas Chinese website over Yahoo email. Yahoo was criticized by the U.S. for aiding the Chinese government. Shi was released in August 2013.
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After writing critically of the government’s detention of political prisoners on the news website Darb, Samy was abducted in Alexandria by security forces on May 20, 2020 and held incommunicado for 10 days. She appeared in state custody on May 31 and was detained without trial for 18 months. Authorities…
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Shin Daewe is a prominent screenwriter and filmmaker whose works comment on poverty and social issues. She was arrested in October 2023 after police confiscated a video drone she planned to use in a documentary. In January 2024, she was sentenced to life in prison by a military tribunal for…
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.