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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ReleasedSiarzhiej Krasnabarod
Editor, Literary writer, Online Commentator, PoetBelarusEurope and Central AsiaSiarzhiej Krasnabarod is a Belarusian writer and editor-in-chief at the Gomel Plus Radio Station. He has also written political poetry. On May 5, 2023, Krasnabarod and three of his colleagues were arrested at their workplace for “distribution of extremist materials,” ostensibly based on their membership in an allegedly “extremist” Telegram…
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Continued HarassmentSiddharth Varadarajan
Editor, Journalist, Literary writer, Online CommentatorIndiaAsia-PacificVaradarajan is an economist, journalist, and author of many books including Gujarat: The Making of a Tragedy. He was targeted by Pegasus spyware multiple times since 2017 for his work. In 2021, India’s Supreme Court ruled that the government could not pursue sedition charges against Varadarajan for his criticism of…
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MurderedSidhu Moose Wala
Creative artist, Singer/SongwriterIndiaAsia-PacificA prominent Punjabi musician, Moose Wala was arrested in 2020 for promoting violence for his song “Sanju.” On May 29, 2022, he was shot and killed while driving without his security detail by civilians allegedly connected to a Canadian mafia group. In July 2022, his last song “SYL,” which addressed…
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ConvictedSiraphop Kornaroot
Online Commentator, PoetThailandAsia-PacificRung Sila was detained for writing a poem deemed offensive to the monarchy and faced up to 45 years in prison under the lèse-majesté law. He was granted bail in 2019 after spending nearly five years in pretrial detention. He was eventually given a 4.5-year sentence and quickly released because…
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ImprisonedSithu Aung Myint
Journalist, Online CommentatorMyanmarAsia-PacificColumnist Sithu Aung Myint is among the writers and cultural figures who have been targeted after the February 2021 coup. He was arrested in August 2021 and held at Insein prison in relation to several articles he posted criticizing the military. From October-December 2022, he received 3 sentences on subversion,…
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ReleasedSithu Soe
JournalistMyanmarAsia-PacificSithu Soe was arrested with four other employees of the Unity newspaper after it published an exposé about an alleged secret chemical weapons factory. The “Unity Five” were sentenced to seven years in prison in 2014, but were released in 2016 by a presidential amnesty. Their case underscored ongoing repression…
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DetainedSohel Hasan Galib
Literary writer, PoetBangladeshAsia-PacificOn February 13, 2025, writer Sohel Hasan Galib was arrested for allegedly “hurting religious sentiments through his social media posts and poetry.” Authorities specifically cited a poem in his book, Amar Khutba Guli, that they deemed derogatory toward the Prophet Mohammad, as evidence against him. Sent to jail on February…
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Displaced/In ExileSoleyana Gebremichael
Online CommentatorEthiopiaSub-Saharan AfricaGebremichael is one of the Zone 9 Bloggers, a group formed in 2012 to publish political commentary online in the face of tightening restrictions on expression. Following her initial arrest in 2014, she was acquitted of all criminal charges and released in 2015. She has since continued her advocacy in…
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Displaced/In ExileSolmaz Naraghi
Creative artist, Filmmaker, Journalist, Literary writer, Poet, Scholar, Singer/SongwriterIranMiddle East and North AfricaNaraghi is a visual artist, musician, poet, and scholar. She has been harassed by authorities and faced multiple charges since 2017, when a video of her performing music was published. She fled to Georgia in 2022 due to political pressure, but the harassment continued especially after her music and writings…
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.