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
ReleasedArash Ganji
Literary writer, TranslatorIranMiddle East and North AfricaArash Ganji is a writer, translator and former secretary of the Iranian Writers’ Association (IWA). He was detained for 29 days in 2019. In 2020, he was sentenced to 11 years in prison on national security and propaganda charges for translating a book about a Kurdish-led uprising in northern Syria.…
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Conditional ReleaseArash Ramezani
Literary writer, Online Commentator, PoetIranMiddle East and North AfricaIranian literary writer and poet Arash Ramezani was arrested at his workplace on October 23, 2022 and taken to an unknown location. No charges were brought against him, but he remained in detention until November 7, 2022, when he was released on bail. He was summoned and briefly detained again…
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Recorded HarassmentArchana Prasad
Literary writer, ScholarIndiaAsia-PacificWriter and academic Prasad was accused with nine others, including Nandini Sundar, of murdering Shamnath Baghel, who had formerly filed complaints against the group for supporting Maoists and inciting anger against the Indian state. All charges were dropped in early 2019. In August 2020, India’s National Human Rights Commission ordered…
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ReleasedAref Dalila
Journalist, Literary writer, ScholarSyriaMiddle East and North AfricaAcademic economist Dalila was arrested in 2001 in relation to his participation in the movement to democratize the Syrian government. In 2002, Dalila was sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment on a litany of anti-state charges. He was released in 2008.
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Displaced/In ExileArif Yunus
Activist, Literary writer, ScholarAzerbaijanEurope and Central AsiaYunus, a writer and political analyst, was sentenced in 2015 on retaliatory charges of financial fraud. He was conditionally released after four months in prison due to health concerns, and granted the ability to travel to the Netherlands for treatment. Now in exile, he continues his advocacy work focusing on…
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ConvictedArmin Shadivand
Activist, Creative artist, Literary writer, Online CommentatorIranMiddle East and North AfricaArmin Shadivand is a composer, singer, and environmental activist. He is the author of eight books which were all banned from publication in Iran. He was summoned to court and arrested in November 2024 for “publishing materials in cyberspace.” He was released on bail after a day. In February 2025,…
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ImprisonedArnon Nampa
Activist, PoetThailandAsia-PacificSince August 2020, Arnon Nampa has been arrested and released on bail several times for his speeches at peaceful protests. In February 2021, he was remanded for violating lèse-majesté laws, sedition, and other charges until he was conditionally released in June. Re-arrested in August 2023, Nampa has now been sentenced…
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Custodial/Wrongful DeathAron Atabek
Activist, Journalist, Literary writer, PoetKazakhstanEurope and Central AsiaActivist, writer, and publisher Atabek was convicted in 2007 of organizing mass disorder and killing a police officer, charges unsupported by sound testimony. While serving his 18 year prison sentence, he managed to write a book, smuggle it out, and have it published in 2012. After serving 15 years of…
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Continued HarassmentArouna Louré
Activist, Literary writer, Online CommentatorBurkina FasoSub-Saharan AfricaLouré, an anesthesiologist, is an outspoken critic of the Burkinabé government. In 2018, he published an essay Burkindi for a new revolution on the increase in political activism, and he has since used Facebook to comment on policies. In September 2023, Louré was arrested under a selectively applied military conscription…
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.