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
Recorded HarassmentAbdel-Rahman Mekled
Journalist, PoetEgyptMiddle East and North AfricaMekled was arrested in August 2017 as part of a group of journalists and writers who had criticized the Egyptian government’s decision to renounce its claim on several Red Sea Islands. Although he was released, he was also arbitrarily dismissed from his job.
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Status
DetainedAbdelali Mezgiche
Journalist, Online CommentatorAlgeriaMiddle East and North AfricaAbdelali Mezghiche is an Algerian journalist and online commentator arrested in Algiers on February 9, 2026 by state security over Facebook posts addressing public anger regarding the imprisonment of figures in Djanet. An Algiers court ordered his pretrial detention the same day pending investigation. He faces charges of posting content…
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Displaced/In ExileAbdelhamid Amine
Creative artistAlgeriaMiddle East and North AfricaCartoonist Amine, best known as Nime, was arrested in December 2019 after posting caricatures critical of the military in the weeks preceding a controversial presidential election. He was released after a month in prison with a one-year suspended sentence and fine, and now resides in France. In March 2023, he…
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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 and his outspoken…
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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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ReleasedAbdelrahman Tareq
Activist, Online CommentatorEgyptMiddle East and North AfricaAbdelrahman Tarek, also known as “Moka,” is a blogger and activist who was first detained in 2013 for his free expression and activism. He wasn’t released until 2018. In 2020, he was ordered into pre-trial detention for spreading false information amongst other charges. Moka attempted suicide in August 2021 after…
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DetainedAbdelwakil Blamm
Journalist, Online CommentatorAlgeriaMiddle East and North AfricaActivist and journalist Abdelwakil Blamm, known for his unwavering commitment to democratic change and press freedom, is heavily involved in the #Manich_Rady (“I’m not satisfied”) social media campaign. On December 29, 2024, he was arrested on December 29, 2024, for “participation in a terrorist organization… [and] spreading false news aimed…
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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 reportedly detained at the Sétif Central Police Station and later…
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ImprisonedAbdirahman Ibrahim Adan
PoetSomalia/SomalilandSub-Saharan AfricaAbdirahman Ibrahim Adan, 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. On February 6, 2024,…
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.