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.
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Dariush Memar Darush
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ReleasedDariush Moradi
Activist, Journalist, Online CommentatorIranMiddle East and North AfricaMoradi is a Kurdish cultural activist who serves on the editorial board of Hesareh, a literary website. Security forces arrested him on November 23, 2020, searching his home and confiscating his belongings without a warrant. He was released on bail from detention on December 7. In April and June 2021,…
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ReleasedDarya Chultsova
JournalistBelarusEurope and Central AsiaCamera operator Chultsova was detained on November 15, 2020 with reporter Katsiaryna Andreyeva for “organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order,” after reporting on a protest in Minsk calling for President Lukashenka’s resignation. On February 18, 2021, she was sentenced to two years in prison, which was later…
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ImprisonedDauletmurat Tadzhimuratov
Journalist, Online CommentatorUzbekistanEurope and Central AsiaTadzhimuratov allegedly organized a rally for Karakalpak autonomy in July 2022, leading to his detention. In January 2023, he was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment and ordered to pay 228.8 som. He is to spend two years in a pre-trial detention center and the rest of his sentence in a…
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ReleasedDavid Mugema
Creative artist, Singer/SongwriterUgandaSub-Saharan AfricaMugema, a musician and activist, was arrested on December 5, 2017 for the dissemination of his song “Wumula,” seen as offensive to President Yoweri Museveni. He was released on bail the following day, and all charges against him were dropped in April 2018.
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Conditional ReleaseDaw Khin Than Wai
PoetMyanmarAsia-PacificPoet Daw Khin Than Wai, also known as Wa Thone Dray, was arrested and detained on March 27, 2021 while taking part in a protest led by poets on Pansodan Road in downtown Yangon. During these protests, poets took part in readings and sold poems and art to oppose the…
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Daw Khin Than Wai Wa Thone Dray
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MurderedDawa Khan Menapal
JournalistAfghanistanAsia-PacificA former journalist and presidential spokesperson, Menapal worked as the head of the Afghan government’s Media and Information Center and sought to form ties with the journalist community. Menapal promoted media pluralism to challenge the Taliban’s propaganda. He was murdered by the militant group on August 6, 2021, one day…
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DetainedDawit Isaak
Dramatist, Journalist, Literary writerEritreaSub-Saharan AfricaCo-owner of the newspaper Setit, Isaak has been detained incommunicado since 2001 in a sweeping crackdown on print media following the September 11 attacks. Isaak has been reportedly tortured and held in solitary confinement, drawing grave concern for his health.
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.