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
ImprisonedDaniyar Adilbekov
Journalist, Online CommentatorKazakhstanEurope and Central AsiaDaniyar Adilbekov is a journalist and avid Telegram user with over 7,200 subscribers. He was arrested and detained on March 27, 2024. His arrest was extended on June 6, 2024, and his trial officially began on August 5, 2024. On Octobery 18, 2024, Adilebkov was sentenced to four and a…
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Under ThreatDanson Kahyana
Literary writer, Online Commentator, Poet, Publisher, ScholarUgandaSub-Saharan AfricaA writer, poet, and academic, Dr. Kahyana’s online writing was sometimes critical of the authorities. In April 2022, he was violently attacked by unkown assailants on his way home and robbed; following the assault, his online accounts were hacked, raising questions as to the motive for the attack. He was…
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MurderedDaphne Caruana Galizia
JournalistMaltaEurope and Central AsiaCaruana Galizia was murdered in 2017, months after writing about corrupt government practices. Despite state obstruction of the investigation, several politicians and business elites have been linked to the crime. Following a nearly two-year public inquiry, an independent board concluded that the state created an “atmosphere of impunity.” On June…
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Continued HarassmentDareen Tatour
Online Commentator, PoetIsraelMiddle East and North AfricaTatour, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, was detained in 2015 for her poetry and social media posts and kept under house arrest for more than two years. She was sentenced to five months in prison in July 2018. While she was released in September on time served, on July 1,…
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Displaced/In ExileDariush Memar
Activist, Journalist, Online Commentator, PoetIranMiddle East and North AfricaAfter posting and commenting on a video showing a woman in Abadan city being beaten and injured by an Iranian security agent, Dariush Memar was summoned by the Khuzestan Province’s Criminal Court 1 on September 14, 2020. On January 20, 2021, Memar was summoned again, this time to appear at…
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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 AsiaDauletmurat Tadzhimuratov is an attorney, activist, and former editor who belongs to the Karakalpak minority group. He was detained after he allegedly organized a rally for Karakalpak autonomy in July 2022. He spent months in detention, where he was tortured and beaten. In January 2023, he was sentenced to 16…
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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.
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.