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
Displaced/In ExileDinara Gagarina
Online Commentator, ScholarRussiaEurope and Central AsiaGagarina is a former Associate Professor of the Department of Humanitarian Disciplines of the Faculty of Social, Economic and Computer Sciences in the Perm branch of the Higher School of Economics (HSE) who was dismissed after making anti-war posts. Gagarina was reported to have left Russia for Kazakhstan in February…
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Displaced/In ExileDmitry Bikov
Journalist, Online Commentator, PoetRussiaEurope and Central AsiaBikov, the author of over 90 books, survived an assassination attempt in 2019 and left Russia in 2022 after its invasion of Ukraine. In October 2022, he was fined for violating the procedures for being a designated “foreign agent.” In December 2023, a leading publisher ceased sales of his books.…
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Displaced/In ExileDmitry Glukhovsky
Dramatist, Journalist, Literary writer, Online CommentatorRussiaEurope and Central AsiaIn June 2022, Glukhovsky was arrested in absentia for anti-war social media posts he made in May. Living in exile in Europe, in October 2022 he was placed on the foreign agent list and stated he felt unsafe even living outside of Russia. His works continue to be a target…
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Recorded HarassmentDmitry Strotsev
Online Commentator, Poet, PublisherBelarusEurope and Central AsiaDmitry Strotsev publishes poetry as a preserver of the “Minsk school of poetry” and has written poetry about the August 2020 Belarusian election and subsequent violence against protesters. On October 21, 2020, he was abducted with a bag over his head, detained, and was brought to interrogation at the KGB.…
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Displaced/In ExileDo Nguyen Mai Khoi
Creative artistVietnamAsia-PacificOnce hailed as the ‘Lady Gaga of Vietnam,’ Mai Khoi transformed her career from pop star to protest singer after speaking out against Vietnamese censorship in her music. As she has reinvented herself as a political activist, she has been consistently harassed by authorities.
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Displaced/In ExileDoan Viet Hoat
JournalistVietnamAsia-PacificDoan founded the Freedom Forum, a free speech discussion group, upon his release from a reeducation camp after 12 years. This led to his renewed arrest in 1990 and ultimate sentencing to 15 years in prison. Released under an amnesty in 1998, he now lives in the U.S.
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ReleasedDoddipalya Narasimha Murthy
Activist, Journalist, Literary writerIndiaAsia-PacificIn October 2019, police arrested Murthy on charges of treason and attempted murder based on allegations from 1994. This was believed to be because of his criticism of the BJP-government. He was granted bail on January 8, 2020 and acquitted of all charges on October 3, 2020.
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DeceasedDoğan Akhanli
ActivistTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaA writer specializing in genocide studies, Akhanli has been arrested and imprisoned several times for his work on the Armenian Genocide. In 1991, he fled Türkiye for Germany where, despite Turkish extradition attempts, he has received protection from the German government. Akhanli died of cancer in October 2021.
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ReleasedDolma Kyab
Literary writer, ScholarChina/Tibet Autonomous RegionAsia-PacificIn 2005, Dolma Kyab was arrested while teaching in connection with his unpublished manuscript The Restless Himalayas. He was tried secretly and sentenced to ten years in prison for endangering state security. He was released in October 2015.
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.