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
AcquittedCengiz Erdinç
Journalist, Literary writerTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaCengiz Erdinç is a columnist and the writer of several books. His work focuses on organized crime and corruption. In November 2023, he was detained following a raid on his home. He was accused of “publicly disseminating misleading information” due to social media posts about a Turkish intelligence report. He…
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Recorded HarassmentCésar Montaña Lehmann
Creative artist, Singer/SongwriterSpainEurope and Central AsiaCésar Montaña Lehmann, known by his stage name César Strawberry, is a Spanish musician and member of the rap metal band Def Con Dos. In 2017, he was sentenced to one year in prison and banned from public office for over six years due to tweets that authorities deemed as…
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AcquittedCesario Alejandro Félix Padilla Figueroa
Activist, ScholarHondurasAmericasPadilla Figueroa, a journalist and student leader, was reportedly sentenced in 2017 to three years in prison for his participation in protests at the Honduran National Autonomous University. Though not in jail, he cannot travel and is subject to surveillance. On May 7, 2024, the Court of Criminal Appeals of…
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DetainedChai Xiaoming
Journalist, Online CommentatorChinaAsia-PacificChai was detained on March 21, 2019 for publishing a politically sensitive article on Red Reference, a magazine where he worked as an editor. He was held for six months under residential surveillance before being formally arrested in September 2019. PEN has received reports that a secret trial took place…
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ConvictedChan Kin-Man
Activist, Literary writer, ScholarChina/Hong KongAsia-PacificChan is a sociologist and leader of the pro-democracy movement Occupy Central. He was convicted on public nuisance charges and sentenced to 16 months in prison in April 2019. He was released early for “good behavior” in March 2020 and appealed his conviction; however, he withdrew the appeal in April…
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MurderedChan Thar Swe
Activist, PoetMyanmarAsia-PacificAfter spending over a year in prison for taking part in a 2015 rally for education reform, the activist and former Buddhist monk, known by his pen name K Zar Win, published his most well-known poetry collection, My Reply to Ramon. On March 3, 2021, he was killed at an…
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ImprisonedChen Jieren
Journalist, Online CommentatorChinaAsia-PacificIn retaliation for his blog posts exposing fraud and corruption by a local party official, as well as other government criticism, Chen Jieren was arrested and held in criminal detention on charges of bribery and racketeering. His case went to trial in late 2019. In April 2020, he was sentenced…
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ReleasedChen Qiushi
Online CommentatorChinaAsia-PacificA citizen journalist who reported on the 2019 protests in Hong Kong, Chen documented videos of hospitals, funeral homes, and empty streets in Wuhan at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in January 2020. On February 6, he was forcibly disappeared and detained. Over 600 days later, in late September…
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ImprisonedChen Shuqing
Activist, Literary writerChinaAsia-PacificChen, a pro-democracy activist and writer, was sentenced to ten and a half years in prison in 2016 after being found guilty of “inciting to subvert state power.” Throughout his imprisonment, he has faced significant physical and mental health challenges, including the loss of four teeth and high blood pressure.…
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.