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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ImprisonedBoris Kagarlitsky
Online Commentator, ScholarRussiaEurope and Central AsiaKagarlitsky, a Marxist sociologist who posts opinion and commentary online, is vocally opposed to the Russian war in Ukraine. He was designated as a foreign agent in May 2022, and then arrested in November 2023 for “justifying terrorism” and placed in pre-trial detention. He was sentenced to 5 years in…
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ImprisonedBui Van Thuan
Online CommentatorVietnamAsia-PacificBui Van Thuan was arrested in August 2021 and accused of “anti-state propaganda” for his Facebook page. In November 2022, he was sentenced to eight years in prison and five years of probation.
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ReleasedBülent Şık
Literary writer, ScholarTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaA writer, food engineer, and environmental activist, Şık was indicted in 2018 after he wrote articles discussing the results of a government study of pollution. In 2019, he was convicted and sentenced to 15 months in prison for disclosing secrets of duty, but remained free on appeal. In April 2021,…
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ConvictedBüşra Ersanli
Literary writer, ScholarTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaIn June 2018, Ersanli was convicted on terrorism charges for her endorsement of a petition, organized by a group called Academics for Peace, criticizing military violence against the Kurds. The group has been persecuted as part of a crackdown on pro-Kurdish voices in Türkiye.
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ImprisonedByu Har
Singer/SongwriterMyanmarAsia-PacificHip-hop artist Byu Har has used his work to criticize the junta, leading to warnings from authorities. He was arrested in May 2023 after live-streaming a video to social media criticizing authorities for their handling of national power outages. In August 2024, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
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Recorded ThreatCaetano Veloso
Activist, Creative artist, Singer/SongwriterBrazilAmericasIn March 2019, Veloso, a musician and writer who openly criticized the right-wing measures proposed by President Jair Bolsonaro during his presidential campaign, was publicly threatened by the Bishop of the Brazilian Military Archdiocese, Dom Francisco Falcão.
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On TrialCan Dündar
Journalist, Literary writerTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaA former editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet, Dündar has been directly targeted by President Erdoğan for his writing. In 2020, Dündar was convicted in absentia to over 27 years in prison for spurious espionage and terrorism charges. Despite prior successful appeals, Dündar remains on trial for reporting on arms shipments to Syrian…
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ImprisonedCao Peizhi
Activist, Online CommentatorChinaAsia-PacificCao is an activist and founder of Warm House, a WeChat blog group discussing democracy issues in China. In July 2022, Cao was detained on charges of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” because his blog validated foreign “propaganda” and carried insulting remarks about party and state leaders. One year later,…
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Continued HarassmentCarlos Manuel Álvarez
Journalist, Literary writerCubaAmericasRising literary figure and journalist Álvarez returned to Cuba in November 2020 to support the San Isidro Movement. Upon returning, he was subject to multiple brief detentions and prolonged house arrest by the authorities for his critical opinions. Though he left Cuba in early 2021, he has continued to write…
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.