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
Conditional ReleaseSarvenaz Ahmadi
Literary writer, TranslatorIranMiddle East and North AfricaColumnist, activist, and literary translator Sarvanez Ahmadi was arrested, along with her husband, on November 6, 2022. After being released on bail on December 7, Ahmadi was sentenced to six years in prison. While imprisoned, her health deteriorated severely. After being assaulted by a prison guard, Ahmadi collapsed and was…
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Conditional ReleaseSasan Chamanara
Online Commentator, Singer/SongwriterIranMiddle East and North AfricaChamanara is a Kurdish singer and activist who has faced repeated cycles of arrest and detention. He was arrested in October 2022 for participating in the Mahsa Jina Amini protests and sentenced in December to five years in prison on charges including “propaganda.” He was temporarily released in January 2023…
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ImprisonedSasha Alexandrova
Journalist, Online CommentatorRussiaEurope and Central AsiaSasha Alexandrova is a journalist and a member of the Yakutsk minority. Alexandrova left Russia in 2022 after the country’s invasion of Ukraine. She began a Telegram channel around this time that expressed dissident views. She returned to Russia in 2024. She was detained by Russian authorities for justifying terrorism”…
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Displaced/In ExileSasha Filipenka
Literary writer, Online CommentatorBelarusEurope and Central AsiaFilipenka is an exiled Belarusian writer and activist. He left the country in 2020 after participating in anti-government protests. In May 2021, a theater group was forced to leave Belarus after performing a play based on a novel by Filipenka. In November 2023, Filipenka’s father was arrested for 2 weeks…
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Displaced/In ExileSasha Skochilenko
Creative artist, Literary writerRussiaEurope and Central AsiaSasha Skochilenko, an artist and writer from St. Petersburg, was arrested on March 31, 2022, after she replaced five shelf tags in a grocery store with anti-war stickers. She was charged with knowingly distributing false information about the Russian military and placed in pretrial detention. After 20 months of pretrial…
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ConvictedSattar Rezaei Mirqaid
Creative artist, PoetIranMiddle East and North AfricaMirqaid is a poet and artist. He was arrested in December 2021 for his involvement in protests and was released on bail after 5 days in detention. In September 2023, he was given a suspended prison sentence of 3 years for “propaganda” and “insulting the leadership.” His sentencing is believed…
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DetainedSaud Al-Sarhan
Journalist, Literary writer, ScholarSaudi ArabiaMiddle East and North AfricaA researcher and columnist whose published works include political commentary on Saudi political, economic, and social issues, Al-Sarhan went missing in October 2021 after writing an article that acknowledged his past criticism of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Reports surfaced in December 2021 that confirmed his detention by Saudi authorities,…
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ReleasedSaw Phoe Khwar
Singer/SongwriterMyanmarAsia-PacificReggae singer and public figure Saw Phoe Khwar was detained on February 1, 2021 on the first day of the military coup. He was sentenced to two years in prison in December; charges against him were likely due to his support for the NLD party and his song “Son of…
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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…
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.