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
ReleasedAndrus Takindang
Creative artist, PoetBelarusEurope and Central AsiaAndrus Takindang and several other musicians in the band “Recha” were detained after playing at a yard gathering in Minsk and later sentenced to 15 days of administrative arrest. The concert was part of the “courtyard movements” in Minsk, during which the band played over 60 open concerts in the…
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Displaced/In ExileAndrzej Poczobut
Activist, Creative artist, Journalist, Literary writer, Online Commentator, PoetBelarusEurope and Central AsiaPoczobut, a Belarusian-Polish political writer and minority rights activist, is known for his critical commentary on Belarusian politics, which he publishes in his blog, Polish newspapers, and a book discussing Lukashenka’s impact. On March 25, 2021, he was detained for “incitement to racial, national, or religious hatred or discord.” In…
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ReleasedAndy Hall
Activist, ScholarThailandAsia-PacificA UK national, labor activist, researcher, and writer Hall was tried in 2013 for both criminal and civil defamation for his investigative reports alleging abuse by National Fruit Company Limited, a Thai fruit processing company. In late 2015, charges were dismissed. Despite this, Hall continued to face legal harassment for…
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Continued HarassmentÁngel Santiesteban Prats
Literary writer, Online CommentatorCubaAmericasAward-winning author Santiesteban has been subject to consistent harassment for his opposition to the Cuban regime on his blog Los Hijos que Nadie Quiso (The Children Who Nobody Loved). He was imprisoned from 2012-2017 for openly criticizing Raul Castro. Since his incarceration, he has become an outspoken advocate for free…
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Recorded ThreatÁngela Hernández Nuñez
Literary writer, PoetDominican RepublicAmericasA prolific poet and novelist, Hernández Nuñez was verbally attacked and threatened by anti-Haitian nationalists she encountered while walking in December 2018. This led to calls for her protection and for anti-hate legislation by global intellectuals such as Noam Chomsky.
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DetainedAnis Alamgir
JournalistBangladeshAsia-PacificAnis Alamgir, a Bangladeshi journalist and columnist, was arrested on December 14, 2025, by the Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police under the Anti-Terrorism Act. On December 15, 2025, a court granted a five-day remand for interrogation over allegations of spreading propaganda and conspiring to “rehabilitate” a banned political party.…
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Recorded HarassmentAnisa Jafari-Mehr
Activist, JournalistIranMiddle East and North AfricaJafari-Mehr is a writer and literary critic at J, a Germany-based Kurdish-language magazine. She was arrested on November 23, 2020 for alleged “propaganda” and “acting against national security” until her conditional release on December 9. In April and June 2021, respectively, a court acquitted Jafari-Mehr of “propaganda” and “membership in…
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ReleasedAnisha Asadollahi
Activist, Literary writer, TranslatorIranMiddle East and North AfricaTranslator, activist, and teacher Anisha Asadollahi was detained on May 9, 2022, when authorities raided her home, arresting her and her husband. She had been arrested twice before for labor activism. She was released on bail on August 20. In May 2023, she was convicted on charges of “propaganda against…
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MurderedAnna Politkovskaya
Journalist, Literary writerRussiaEurope and Central AsiaJournalist and writer Politkovskaya was found murdered in her apartment building’s foyer in central Moscow in October 2006, shot at point blank range. Her murder was widely suspected to be a contract killing for her reporting on human rights abuses and corruption, and justice in the case remains elusive. The…
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.