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
Abdelhamid Amine Nime
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ReleasedAbdelkabir Al-Hor
Journalist, Online CommentatorMoroccoMiddle East and North AfricaAl-Hor, creator and editor of a news website that is often critical of the Moroccan government, was arrested in 2017 and sentenced to four years in prison in 2018 for defamation and condoning terrorism. His arrest is thought to have stemmed from his coverage of anti-corruption activism. Al-Hor was released…
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ReleasedAbdelmoundji Khelladi
Journalist, Online CommentatorAlgeriaMiddle East and North AfricaKhelladi publishes his writing about politics online and in independent outlets. He was covering a protest when officers arrested him on October 7, 2019, holding him in detention for three months. He was acquitted in April 2020, but the prosecutor has since appealed. He was sentenced to six months suspended…
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ReleasedAbdennour Abdesselam
Activist, Literary writer, Online Commentator, Scholar, TranslatorAlgeriaMiddle East and North AfricaAn ethnic minority rights advocate, Abdesselam was arrested on September 13, 2021 on charges of “belonging to a terrorist organization,” and was accused of being connected to the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylie (MAK), which Abdesselam denies. He was released on November 14, 2022.
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ReleasedAbdirahman Ibrahim Adan
PoetSomalia/SomalilandSub-Saharan AfricaAdan, a poet in Somaliland, was arrested on January 12, 2019 after publicly reciting a poem the previous day in which he called on the Somaliland government to reform its prisons and criminal justice system. He was acquitted and released on February 25, 2019.
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Abdirahman Ibrahim Adan Abdirahman Abees
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ReleasedAbdo Fayed
Journalist, Online CommentatorEgyptMiddle East and North AfricaFayed, an Egyptian journalist and online commentator, remains detained without trial since May 2020, charged with disinformation and joining a terrorist group. The detention followed a series of Facebook posts in which he was critical of the government response to COVID-19. On April 24, 2022, after prolonged pre-trial detention, Fayed…
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MurderedAbduhadi Kasheet
Journalist, Literary writerSyriaMiddle East and North AfricaWriter and journalist Kasheet was arrested in July 2013 by the Air Force Intelligence Branch of Aleppo. His death was first reported in October 2013, and was later reported by the Syrian government. He is one of thousands of Syrian citizens to be killed in custody.
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DeceasedAbdukerim Rahman
Literary writer, ScholarChina/Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous RegionAsia-PacificRahman is a renowned academic specializing in Uyghur folklore who has authored over 20 books, including History of Uyghur Culture and Uyghur Folk Literature. Reports indicate that Rahman was arrested in January 2018 and detained for one year. He passed away in August 2020.
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.