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
DeceasedRaúl Rivero
Journalist, PoetCubaAmericasRivero was arrested in a 2003 roundup of dissidents known as the Black Spring and sentenced to 20 years in prison. He was released in 2010 after multilateral talks in which Cuba agreed to release those jailed in the Black Spring. In 2019, he signed a letter supporting Cuban political…
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ConvictedRavi Nair
Journalist, Online CommentatorIndiaAsia-PacificRavi Nair is an online commentator and frequent contributor to news websites like The Wire and NewsClick. On July 26, 2023, New Delhi police issued an arrest warrant against Nair, requiring him to appear in a Gandhinagar court, after he had published an investigation into India’s third-largest conglomerate, the Adani…
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Continued HarassmentRaymar Aguado Hernández
Journalist, Literary writer, PoetCubaAmericasRaymar Aguado Hernández has been targeted for regular interrogations by the Cuban State Security over his outspoken criticism of the authorities. On July 9, 2024, Hernández received a summons instructing him to appear for an “interview” at the Ministry of the Interior’s office in the Cayo Hueso Council on July…
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Conditional ReleaseRedha Al-Boori
Journalist, ScholarSaudi ArabiaMiddle East and North AfricaColumnist Redha Al-Boori was arrested in April 2019 during a larger crackdown on dissent targeting writers and commentators, commonly referred to as the “April Campaign” in Saudi Arabia. Prior to his arrest, he had written about regional politics, though he had not been active in years. Al-Boori was reportedly being…
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MurderedRefaat Alareer
PoetIsrael/Occupied Palestinian TerritoryMiddle East and North AfricaAlareer, a writer and scholar, was also co-founder of the “We Are Not Numbers” project. In December 2023, Alareer and several family members were killed in an Israeli airstrike that surgically targeted the second floor of his sister’s apartment building, where he was staying after being displaced. He had reportedly…
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Recorded HarassmentRehna Sultana
Activist, Poet, ScholarIndiaAsia-PacificSultana 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. Sultana was already battling four…
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Recorded HarassmentRenata Carvalho
Creative artistBrazilAmericasCarvalho, an actor in the play O Evangelho Segundo Jesus, Rainha do Céu (The Gospel According to Jesus, Queen of Heaven)—which encountered multiple bans and attempts to supress its message—has faced intense backlash for her role portraying Jesus as a transgender woman. She has been subjected to police harassment, as…
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ImprisonedRené Capain Bassène
Journalist, Literary writerSenegalSub-Saharan AfricaRené Capain Bassène, known for his reporting on the Casamance conflict, was arrested at his home on January 14, 2018, accused of organizing a January 6 massacre in the Bayotte Forest where 14 loggers were killed. On June 13, 2022, Bassène was sentenced to life imprisonment on several murder charges.…
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Conditional ReleaseReza Keshvari
Creative artist, Online Commentator, PoetIranMiddle East and North AfricaKeshvari is a poet, artist, and online commentator. He was arrested for participating in protests in October 2022. He suffers from multiple sclerosis which he was diagnosed with in summer 2022. He was sentenced to five years in prison on undisclosed charges, before being released in early 2023. Keshvari remains…
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.