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
Conditional ReleaseChen Wei
Activist, Literary writerChinaAsia-PacificChen was detained in 2011 for essays in which he supported a civil society and criticized the Chinese political system. In February 2020, Chen was released upon completion of his nine-year prison sentence although he is subject to two years deprivation of political rights. He was initially convicted of “inciting…
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ReleasedChen Xi
Activist, Literary writerChinaAsia-PacificOn December 26, 2011, Chen was sentenced to 10 years in prison at a trial that lasted less than three hours for “inciting subversion of state power.” His conviction is based on quotations from over 30 of his articles published on overseas Chinese-language websites. On November 28, 2021, Xi was…
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Conditional ReleaseChen Yu
PublisherChinaAsia-PacificChen owns an online book retailer that sells foreign-published Christian books to readers living in China. In September 2019, he was detained in Linhai city on suspicion of “illegal business activities” for selling unapproved religious publications. On September 27, 2020, Chen was sentenced to seven years in prison, received a…
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ImprisonedChen Yunfei
Activist, Creative artist, Online CommentatorChinaAsia-PacificChen is a performance artist and blogger. On March 25, 2021, he was detained by Chengdu authorities on charges of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” after he published an online article criticizing the state of schools in Sichuan. In December 2021, he was convicted on retaliatory charges of “child molestation”…
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DetainedChen Zhaozhi
Online Commentator, ScholarChinaAsia-PacificChen Zhaozhi, a scholar and online commentator, was detained in March 2020 for his writings criticizing the government’s handling of COVID-19. His prolonged detention has severely impacted his health, as he suffers from Alzheimer’s and hypertension. Furthermore, Chen has been subjected to physical abuse, including being beaten by a fellow…
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Recorded HarassmentChido Onumah
Journalist, Literary writerNigeriaSub-Saharan AfricaAuthor, human rights activist, and journalist Onumah was briefly arrested and detained by the Nigerian Department of State Security (DSS) in September 2019 without explanation of the offense. He was released without charge five hours after. The DSS denied arresting him. Onumah later filed a lawsuit alleging the arrest violated…
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ReleasedChimengül Awut
Editor, PoetChina/Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous RegionAsia-PacificAwut, an award-winning poet and editor at Kashgar Publishing House, was reportedly arrested in July 2018. She was sent without a trial to a “re-education camp” after her involvement in editing a novel by another Uyghur writer. According to reports, she was released in August 2020, although some later indicated…
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ImprisonedChow Hang-tung
Activist, Online CommentatorChina/Hong KongAsia-PacificChow, an activist and lawyer, has faced significant legal challenges related to her pro-democracy activities. In June 2021, she was arrested after writing an article about the Tiananmen Square Massacre vigil, leading to a 15-month prison sentence in June 2023 for organizing an unlawful assembly. In December 2023, a court…
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ConvictedChristopher Acosta Alfaro
Journalist, Literary writerPeruAmericasAn investigative journalist and author of the book Plata como cancha, Acosta was sued for defamation by presidential candidate Cézar Acuña after his book was published. In his book he exposed alleged corruption, vote-buying, and plagiarism. A criminal court foud Acosta guilty and sentenced him to 2 years suspended prison…
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.