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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Displaced/In ExileDenis Solís González
Activist, Creative artist, Singer/SongwriterCubaAmericasSolís González is a Cuban songwriter and rapper whose musical work critiques repression by the authorities. Solís was forcibly detained in November 2020 after he posted a video on social media criticizing authorities for entering his house without a warrant, and he was given eight months in prison for “contempt.”…
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ReleasedDenise Ho
Activist, Creative artist, Journalist, Online Commentator, Singer/SongwriterChina/Hong KongAsia-PacificA musician-turned-activist, Ho has been repeatedly targeted by Chinese authorities for her outspoken pro-democracy views, expressed through her songs, social media posts, and in columns written for the now-defunct Apple Daily. In December 2021, Ho was briefly detained in a raid on the staff of Stand News, and now faces…
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On TrialDeniz Yücel
Journalist, PublisherTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaColumnist Yücel was subjected to pre-trial detention–including solitary confinement and torture–and then indicted in 2018 with producing “terrorism propaganda,” and “inciting the public to hatred and enmity.” Now in Germany, he was charged in absentia in 2021 for publicly insulting Turkish officials. He is currently on trial for “insulting the…
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On TrialDeniz Zarakolu
Literary writer, Scholar, TranslatorTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaThe son of human rights activists, Zarakolu was first arrested in 2002 for a speech he gave at his mother’s funeral. In 2011, he was arrested again in a crackdown on pro-Kurdish intellectuals. He was released in 2014 but faces trial on terrorism charges.
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MurderedDeyda Hydara
JournalistGambiaSub-Saharan AfricaOn December 16, 2004, Deyda Hydara was murdered. While an army officer testified to his involvement and former President Yahya Jammeh’s role as mastermind before Gambia’s Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission in 2019, he has not yet been held accountable because he fled the country.
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DetainedDidier Almagro Toledo
Singer/SongwriterCubaAmericasAlmagro, a “contestatory” rapper using his music to protest the government and reflect on political topics, was arrested at his home by state security agents following a protest in August 2020. He was charged with contempt and public disorder, and sentenced to 3 years imprisonment. He was released on April…
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Dilshat Oralbai
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ConvictedDima Sadek
Journalist, Online CommentatorLebanonMiddle East and North AfricaJournalist and online commentator Sadek has been the target of harassment campaigns by supporters of the Shiite Hezbollah movement and the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM). She was sued by the head of the FPM in February 2020 for “defamation, slander, and inciting sectarian strife.” In July 2023, she was convicted…
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Continued HarassmentDina Meza
Activist, Journalist, Literary writerHondurasAmericasDina Meza, an internationally renowned human rights defender, journalist, and founding member of PEN Honduras, experiences ongoing harassment and surveillance. PEN believes she is targeted for practicing free expression, and that her safety is at risk.
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.