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.
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Status
ReleasedTint San
JournalistMyanmarAsia-PacificTint San 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. As the newspaper’s CEO, Tint…
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DeceasedTohti Tunyaz
Literary writer, ScholarChina/Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous RegionAsia-PacificA Uyghur historian based in Japan, Tunyaz was arrested in 1998 after analyzing primary sources in Xinjiang for his book The Inside Story of the Silk Road. Imprisoned for 11 years for stealing state secrets, he was released in 2009. He was later subjected to chaperoned house arrest and received…
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Continued HarassmentTomasz Piątek
Journalist, Literary writerPolandEurope and Central AsiaPiątek, a Polish journalist and author, has faced significant harassment due to his investigative work. He is best known for his book, Macierewicz and the Military, which exposed alleged ties between Antoni Macierewicz (Poland’s former Minister of National Defence) and Russian interests. In 2017, Piątek was sued by Macierewicz for…
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Displaced/In ExileTommy Yuen
Activist, Online Commentator, Singer/SongwriterChina/Hong KongAsia-PacificYuen rose to prominence as a member of the popular Cantopop band E-kids. Now a leading pro-democracy activist on social media and in online articles, he is known for criticizing the judicial system, policing, and the government’s response to COVID-19. On February 15, 2022, he was arrested and charged with…
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Conditional ReleaseToomaj Salehi
Singer/SongwriterIranMiddle East and North AfricaIn January 2022, rapper Toomaj was given a six-month suspended sentence for “insult” and “propaganda.” He was arrested again in October and tortured. In July 2023, he was given 6 years and three months in prison. He was released on bail in November but rearrested and sentenced to another year.…
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ReleasedTouraj Amini
Literary writer, ScholarIranMiddle East and North AfricaAfter being briefly arrested in a raid on his home in August 2019, historian, researcher, and literary writer Touraj Amini was given a reduced sentenced of six months in prison for “propaganda against the regime,” in June 2020. Amini began serving his sentence in January 2021. While he was detained,…
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ImprisonedTran Anh Kim
Journalist, Literary writerVietnamAsia-PacificA retired military officer and prolific essayist, Kim has written about government corruption, human rights, and social injustice. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison in 2016 under Article 79, accusing him of overthrowing the people’s administration. Arrested in 2009 under a similar charge and released in 2015, Kim…
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ImprisonedTran Duc Thach
Literary writer, Online Commentator, PoetVietnamAsia-PacificTran Duc Thach was arrested on April 23, 2020 and charged with “activities aimed at overthrowing the People’s Government” for his Facebook posts on government corruption and human rights abuses. In December 15, 2020, he was ultimately sentenced to 12 years in prison for subversion, which was upheld in his…
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ImprisonedTran Hoang Huan
Online CommentatorVietnamAsia-PacificTran Hoang Tuan was indicted and arrested under investigation for his alleged anti-state propaganda in August 2021. Many believe his arrest was directly related to his criticism of the state’s responses to COVID-19. Tran was sentenced to 8 years in prison and 3 years of probation for writing articles that…
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.