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
-
Status
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. He later sued both Bolsonaro and his son Carlos for unauthorized use of…
-
Status
Displaced/In ExileCan Dündar
Journalist, Literary writerTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaA former editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet, Dündar has been subjected to multiple trials and convictions due to his investigative reporting. In May 2016, he was sentenced to five years and ten months in prison for “obtaining and disclosing classified documents related to state security.” Although he was released pending appeal, he…
-
Status
ReleasedCao Peizhi
Activist, Online CommentatorChinaAsia-PacificCao Peizhi is an activist and the founder of Warm House, a WeChat blog group discussing democracy issues in China. On July 3, 2022, he was detained on charges of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” because his blog allegedly validated foreign propaganda and carried insulting remarks about party and state…
-
Status
Displaced/In ExileCarlos 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…
-
Status
Continued HarassmentCarlos Valverde Bravo
Activist, JournalistBoliviaAmericasCarlos Valverde Bravo has been the target of harassment and dismissal from posts at national news outlets for his coverage of government corruption. In March 2021, a caricature of him and phrases he allegedly aired on his show on March 29 — some of which were taken out of context,…
-
Status
Displaced/In ExileCarolina Barrero
Creative artist, Literary writer, Online CommentatorCubaAmericasCarolina Barrero is an exiled writer and art historian. She was arrested in April 2021 after being accused of “clandestine printing” after participating in anti-government protests. The charges were dropped due to lack of evidence, and she was placed under house arrest. In June 2022, she was rearrested and detained…
-
Status
ConvictedÇayan Demirel
Creative artist, JournalistTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaAward-winning filmmaker Demirel was sentenced in 2019 to nearly 5 years in prison for “propagandizing for a terrorist organization” after screening Bakur, a film he co-directed with Ertuğrul Mavioğlu, in a mostly Kurdish-populated province during the Turkish-Kurdish peace process. He was sentenced to 2 years and 1 month in prison…
-
Status
ConvictedCemal Azmi Kalyoncu
Journalist, Literary writer, Online CommentatorTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaKalyoncu was detained in the crackdown following the failed 2016 coup. His writing and tweets were used as evidence of terrorism charges against him, resulting in a six and a half year prison sentence in 2018. In June 2020, a Supreme Court overturned his conviction. He was retried and in…
-
Status
Continued HarassmentCengiz Çandar
Journalist, Literary writer, Online Commentator, ScholarTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaThe author of seven books and a columnist, Çandar was tried from 2021 to 2023 for “praising crime and criminals” due to a 2017 tweet on a Kurdish revolutionary fighter. He was initially sentenced and then fined in May 2023. After residing in Sweden as a visiting scholar, he returned…
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.