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
ImprisonedYi Xie Bu Yu Xie
Literary writerChinaAsia-PacificYi Xie Bu Yu Xie, an online author of homoerotic fiction novels, was arrested on June 20, 2024, as part of China’s crackdown on “pornographic” content, particularly targeting writers on the Taiwan-based platform Haitang Literature City. On December 16, 2024, she was sentenced to one year and five months in…
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Continued HarassmentYihe Zhang
Literary writer, ScholarChinaAsia-PacificA historian and literary writer, Yihe has seen her work continually be censored by the Chinese government. She reported on her Facebook account that she was a victim of surveillance by Chinese officials. In addition to her books being banned, she is prohibited from leaving the country. Zhang said her…
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Recorded HarassmentYoani Sánchez
Journalist, Online CommentatorCubaAmericasA blogger who gained widespread fame for her critical portrayal of daily life in Cuba, Sánchez was arrested in 2012 for her reporting on the death of dissident leader Oswaldo Payá. She later founded the digital news outlet 14ymedio and has continued to report critically on the Cuban government. She…
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Conditional ReleaseYonatan (Jonathan) Pollak
Activist, JournalistIsrael/Occupied Palestinian TerritoryMiddle East and North AfricaYonatan Pollak, a journalist and activist, has faced repeated harassment and legal action for his activism. Arrested multiple times since 2003, he has been accused of incitement, subjected to house arrest, and physically attacked. Most recently, on November 9, 2023, Pollak was arrested in Jaffa by a special police group,…
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ReleasedYongpei Qin
Online CommentatorChinaAsia-PacificA human rights lawyer and online activist, Yongpei is serving a 5 year sentence on charges of “inciting subversion of state power.” Yongpei was first detained in October 2019 after a series of social media posts deemed “pro-democracy” and “politically sensitive.” He was found guilty and sentenced in March 2023.…
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ReleasedYorm Bopha
Activist, Singer/SongwriterCambodiaAsia-PacificLands rights activist Yorm Bopha was re-convicted in 2016 to three years in prison for an alleged attack on two taxi drivers in 2012, despite a lack of evidence linking her to the crime. The remainder of her sentence was suspended. She had already served over 14 months in detention…
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ReleasedYousef El Dosh
PoetSudanSub-Saharan AfricaOn March 5, 2021, El Dosh was summoned to appear before a court after a reading of his original poem about the violent dispersal of protestors in 2019—known as the June 3 Massacre—was broadcast on television. He was released from jail on March 10, after being questioned by investigators about…
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ReleasedYoussef El-Hireche
Activist, Online CommentatorMoroccoMiddle East and North AfricaPopular activist Youssef el-Hireche was arrested on March 21, 2024 for Facebook posts he published, and placed in pretrial detenion on the orders of the public prosecutor. On May 10, 2024, he was sentenced to 18 months in prison for various defamation charges, including “attacking a public official,” “insulting and…
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DetainedYu Qian
Activist, Online CommentatorChinaAsia-PacificPro-democracy activist and online commentator Yu has been the subject of harassment by Chinese authorities, including surveillance, for years. After tweeting about speaking out on the Tiananmen Square massacre on October 12, 2022, he was taken into custody and has since been detained. His whereabouts remain unknown, and he has…
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.