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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ImprisonedAshkan Fahim
Activist, Literary writerIranMiddle East and North AfricaAshkan Fahim is a Kurdish poet, author, and cultural activist. He was arrested on September 15, 2023 on unknown charges. As of October 18, 2023, when Fahim was transferred to Urmia prison, he was denied legal representation. Three months later, on December 23, 2023, he was sentenced to three years…
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ReleasedAshraf Fayadh
Creative artist, Literary writer, PoetSaudi ArabiaMiddle East and North AfricaFayadh, a poet and artist, was jailed on various charges of blasphemy for writing about humanistic themes in his poetry collection Instructions Within. The collection explores Fayadh’s experience as a Palestinian refugee in Saudi Arabia. After great public outcry, his initial death sentence in 2015 was reduced to eight years…
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ReleasedAshraf Hamdi
Creative artist, Online CommentatorEgyptMiddle East and North AfricaA political commentator and cartoonist, Ashraf Hamdi was arrested on January 25, 2021 after reposting a cartoon for the 10-year anniversary of the 2011 uprising which led to the overthrew of Hosni Mubarak. He was charged with “misusing social networking sites” and “spreading false news,” according to family and legal…
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DetainedAshraf Omar
Creative artist, TranslatorEgyptMiddle East and North AfricaAshraf Omar, a cartoonist and translator for independent outlets like Al-Manassa and Mada Masr, was arrested on July 22, 2024 for satirical drawings criticizing Egypt’s economic policies. Held without trial, his detention has been repeatedly extended. His wife, Nada Mougheeth, was also arrested on January 13, 2025 after speaking about…
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Recorded HarassmentAshraful Hussain
Poet, ScholarIndiaAsia-PacificHussain is one of the “Miya” (Bengali-language Muslim) poets charged in July 2019 after the online publication of a poem by Hafiz Ahmed that authorities claimed promoted sectarian enmity in the state of Assam. On July 17, 2019, all ten poets were granted anticipatory bail. He is currently a MLA…
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Displaced/In ExileAslı Erdoğan
Journalist, Literary writerTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaNovelist and occasional columnist for pro-Kurdish Özgür Gündem, Aslı Erdoğan was detained after the 2016 coup attempt. Conditionally released four months later, she escaped to Germany. In February 2020, she was formally acquitted, but this was appealed in June. In February 2022, a court decided to uphold her acquittal. In…
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DetainedAsma Al-Subaie
Online Commentator, ScholarSaudi ArabiaMiddle East and North AfricaAsma Al-Subaie is a student and human rights defender who has advocated for the Bedouin minority and for women’s rights in Saudi Arabia, including criticizing state-imposed religious regulations. In June 2021, her home was raided and she was arrested for tweets she published condemning the severe punishments imposed on activists…
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Conditional ReleaseAsma N Hreash
Journalist, Online CommentatorIsrael/Occupied Palestinian TerritoryMiddle East and North AfricaOn April 3, 2024, journalist Asma Hreash was arrested and sentenced to six months in administrative detention without charges due to several Facebook posts she published on the war in Gaza. While she was released on October 2, 2024, Hreash’s brother recieved a call from an Israeli officer threatening her…
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ReleasedAsmamaw Hailegiorgis
Online CommentatorEthiopiaSub-Saharan AfricaHailegiorgis is one of the Zone 9 Bloggers, a group formed in 2012 to publish political commentary online in the face of tightening restrictions on expression. Following his initial arrest in 2014, he was released in 2015. He and fellow members were later acquitted of terrorism charges. However, criminal charges…
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.