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
AcquittedWojciech Sadurski
Literary writer, ScholarPolandEurope and Central AsiaScholar and writer Sadurski faces three defamation suits for tweets he shared in 2018 criticizing Poland’s ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS) and the public broadcaster TVP. In his tweets, he called the PiS an “organized criminal group.” If convicted, he faces jail time or a fine. In 2021, Sadurski…
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Continued HarassmentWong Kel-kwan
Creative artistChina/Hong KongAsia-PacificWong, better known by his pen name Zunzi, is a Hong Kong pro-democracy political cartoonist. He was subject to multiple incidents of censorship throughout the years dating back to 1998, when the island returned to Chinese rule. In May 2023, Ming Pao newspaper announced that Zunzi’s satire column was shut…
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DetainedWong Kwong-ngon
Journalist, Online CommentatorChina/Hong KongAsia-PacificWong Kwok-ngnon, who also writes under the pen name, Wong On-yin, is a long-time columnist and commentator who wrote for outlets like the now-defunct Apple Daily and Hong Kong Economic Journal. In December 2025, he was arrested and charged with “sedition” over commentary related to the deadly November 2025 fire…
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Conditional ReleaseWu Huaiyun
Activist, Online CommentatorChinaAsia-PacificUnder the name Xinyue Baiyun, Wu Huaiyun is a freelance online writer who comments on current and political affairs. Her articles cannot be accessed on domestic browsers in China, and she has been detained for her expression before. In March 2021, authorities once again detained her for her tweets, and…
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ImprisonedXiang Jinfeng
Online CommentatorChinaAsia-PacificXiang is a blogger who created a WeChat group where has been posting politically sensitive commentary and expressing concerns about citizens’ rights since 2017. In 2019, he was stopped at the airport, prevented from leaving the country, and his passport was annulled. Xiang was taken into custody three years later…
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DetainedXiaolong Ji
Activist, Online CommentatorChinaAsia-PacificXiaolong is an activist and online commentator. He was detained by the police for posting an open letter on Twitter to the Shanghai government in August 2022, accusing them of causing the Covid-19 humanitarian crisis in Shanghai. He was indicted by the court for “spreading false information that harms the…
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ReleasedXie Fengxia
Activist, Literary writer, PoetChinaAsia-PacificXie spent 4.5 years in prison for subverting state power after publicly supporting the Umbrella Movement. He was released in March 2019 but has since faced continuous harassment. In April 2020, Xie was detained again for posting a poem commemorating Lin Zhao, a dissident from the Cultural Revolution. Xie was…
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ReleasedXie Junbiao
Activist, Online CommentatorChinaAsia-PacificXie is an activist and blogger from Chengdu. In 2018, he was beaten and detained by police for 10 days on charges of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.” He was later released with a warning. He was rearrested again in 2019 and 2020. In May 2022, following an article he…
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ImprisonedXie Yang
Online CommentatorChinaAsia-PacificLawyer Xie Yang, known for representing many pro-democracy and human rights protestors, is outspoken on social media including Weibo, WeChat, and Twitter where he routinely criticises China’s political and judicial system. In 2022, he was arrested and indicted on charges of “inciting subversion of state power” due to social media…
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.