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
Custodial/Wrongful DeathBaktash Abtin
Creative artist, Literary writer, PoetIranMiddle East and North AfricaBaktash Abtin was a celebrated poet, filmmaker, and board member of the Iranian Writers Association (IWA). Along with two other IWA board members, he was convicted in 2019 for “propaganda” and “conspiracy against national security” due to his literary activities and for opposing state censorship. Abtin’s six-year prison sentence was…
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Under ThreatBalam Rodrigo Pérez Hernández
Literary writer, PoetMexicoAmericasIn 2024, Balam Rodrigo Péres Hernández continued to report the presence of criminal groups at cultural and literary events—mainly across Mexico and the United States—that address migration issues and the violence perpetrated by these groups. He has been threatened with retaliation if he continues to write or speak about the…
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Recorded HarassmentBanamallika Choudhury
Activist, PoetIndiaAsia-PacificIn July 2019, a police report was filed against Choudhury and other “Miya” (Bengali-language Muslim) poets after the online publication of a poem by Hafiz Ahmed that authorities claimed promoted sectarian enmity in Assam. On July 17, 2019, all ten poets were granted anticipatory bail. Though the case did not…
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ReleasedBaolong Hu
Activist, Online CommentatorChina/Inner Mongolia Autonomous RegionAsia-PacificA human rights lawyer and online activist, Baolong was detained in September 2020 for allegedly “leaking secrets” to foreign countries and for his online commentary. He was formally charged with “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.” Authorities targeted him for discussing the situation in Inner Mongolia in a WeChat group with…
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DetainedBardin Jafari
Activist, Singer/SongwriterIranMiddle East and North AfricaBardin Jafari is a Kurdish singer and activist from Gilan who uses his music to support pro-Kurdish causes and women’s rights. In May 2024, Jafari was violently arrested in his home after performing politically charged Kurdish-language songs at an unauthorized festival for the Persian New Year in defiance of threats.…
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ConvictedBariş Pehlivan
Journalist, Literary writer, Online CommentatorTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaPehlivan, an author and journalist, has faced multiple trials on a range of charges for his writing. He was arrested in February 2020 for “disclosing intelligence information” and sentenced to 3 years and 9 months in prison, though later released. In 2023, he faced “insult” and “calumny” charges over an…
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ConvictedBarış Terkoğlu
Journalist, Literary writerTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaOn March 4, 2020, Barış Terkoğlu was arrested for a report published on OdaTV with photos of the funeral of a Turkish officer killed in Syria. In April, he was indicted for “disclosing classified information crucial to the security and interests of the state” and “exposing the contents of documents…
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ReleasedBarış Yüksel
Creative artist, Singer/SongwriterTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaBarış Yüksel, a member of the controversial activist collective and band Grup Yorum, began a hunger strike in May 2019 to protest his imprisonment and was released from prison in February 2020 after his health deteriorated. In 2021, he was re-arrested twice and detained again in December following a raid…
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AcquittedBarshashree Buragohain
Online Commentator, Poet, ScholarIndiaAsia-PacificBuragohain, an undergraduate student, writes poetry and shares it on her Facebook account. She was arrested on May 18, 2022 for writing an allegedly “anti-national poem” titled Akou Korim Rashtra Droh which translates to Will Again Rebel Against the Nation. She was charged under Sections 10 and 13 for alleged…
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.