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
-
Status
ReleasedAlireza Nouri
Literary writer, Online Commentator, PoetIranMiddle East and North AfricaNouri, a member of the Iranian Writers’ Association, was sentenced to two years imprisonment on the charge of “blasphemy through writing offensive poetry online” in 2017. While his prison sentence was postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak in Iran, authorities enforced his sentence on February 11, 2021 and imprisoned him…
-
Status
Conditional ReleaseAllan Au Ka-lun
Journalist, Literary writer, Online CommentatorChina/Hong KongAsia-PacificAu is an author, columnist, and journalist known for his regular commentary in the now-shuttered Stand News and Hong Kong’s Ming Pao newspaper. He also comments on politics and society on social media and his website 潮池. Detained on April 11, 2022 on suspicion of conspiring to publish seditious materials,…
-
Status
MurderedAllinda Michael
Activist, Creative artistUgandaSub-Saharan AfricaZiggy Wine, a prominent musician and vocal supporter of opposition politician Bobi Wine, was kidnapped in July 2019. His mutilated body was discovered a week later, and he succumbed to his injuries in the hospital shortly after. His family believes the Ugandan state was involved in his death, citing his…
-
Status
Conditional ReleaseAlnur Ilyashev
Activist, Online CommentatorKazakhstanEurope and Central AsiaAlnur Ilyashev was detained in April 2020, and sentenced in June to three years of restricted freedom and a five year ban on political activism for Facebook posts criticizing the Kazakh government’s pandemic response. On September 15, 202, the Almaty city court upheld the sentence. He attempted to run as…
-
Status
ReleasedAlsu Kurmasheva
Editor, JournalistRussiaEurope and Central AsiaAlsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American editor and reporter for RFE/RL, was briefly held at the airport in June 2023, then charged with failing to register as a foreign agent and detained in October. In December, a criminal case was filed on charges of false information about the military, related to a…
-
Status
DetainedAmanuel Asrat
Journalist, Literary writer, Poet, Singer/SongwriterEritreaSub-Saharan AfricaAmanuel Asrat, an esteemed Eritrean poet, journalist, and former editor-in-chief of Zemen newspaper, was arrested on September 23, 2001, amid a government crackdown on independent media. Since then, he has been detained without charge or trial, with his exact whereabouts and health status remaining unknown. He has published poetry, songs,…
-
Status
ReleasedAmer Abdel Moneim
Journalist, Online CommentatorEgyptMiddle East and North AfricaMoneim writes political opinion articles that have included criticism of President El-Sisi’s policies. In December 2020, he was arrested and charged with “spreading false news” and “participating in terrorist activities,” citing his social media posts. He was pardoned and released in May 2022. Throughout his pre-trial detention, he suffered medical…
-
Status
Custodial/Wrongful DeathAmin El-Mahdy
Literary writer, Online Commentator, PublisherEgyptMiddle East and North AfricaEl-Mahdy, a writer and publisher, was arrested on September 9, 2020 because of a Facebook post calling the Egyptian president “a murderer, traitor, coward, and thief.” According to his lawyer, he faced 49 charges related to his publishing work, dating back 20 years. He was released on September 30, 2020…
-
Status
ReleasedAmin Moradi
PoetIranMiddle East and North AfricaOn November 28, 2020, Iranian poet and member of the Iranian Writer’s Association Amin Moradi was arbitrarily arrested and detained in a raid of his home. During the raid, authorities confiscated his electronic devices as well as an unknown number of books. His lawyer later warned he could face national…
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.