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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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. In November 2023, a court…
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DetainedDidier Almagro Toledo
Singer/SongwriterCubaAmericasAlmagro is a “contestatory” rapper who uses his music to protest the government and reflect on political topics. In August 2020, he was arrested at his home by state security agents following a protest. He was charged with contempt and public disorder, and sentenced to 3-years imprisonment. He was released…
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DetainedDidier Nusbaumer
Creative artist, JournalistMyanmarAsia-PacificDidier Nusbaumer is a Swiss filmmaker and screenwriter who wrote, filmed, and edited “Don’t Expect Anything,” a film that challenged the traditional depiction of Buddhist monks. On August 8, 2023, Nusbaumer, alongside 13 Myanmar nationals, was arrested for defaming Buddhism. The locations in which these individuals are being held remain…
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ImprisonedDilshat Oralbai
Creative artist, Editor, TranslatorChina/Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous RegionAsia-PacificChinese-born Kazakh translator and musician Dilshat Oralbai has translated 15 literary books, including The Russian Character by Tolstoy, stories, and TV series from Chinese to Kazakh. In May 2018, he was arrested upon his return to Xinjiang on unknown charges and taken to a concentration camp. In August 2019, his…
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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. In August 2023, Meza found herself involved in a smear campaign that attempted to…
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Displaced/In ExileDinara Gagarina
Online Commentator, ScholarRussiaEurope and Central AsiaDinara Gagarina 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). She was dismissed after publishing a Facebook post strongly condemning the Russian war in Ukraine. Additionally, the…
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ReleasedDjamila Bentouis
Activist, Poet, Singer/SongwriterAlgeriaMiddle East and North AfricaFranco-Algerian Hirak activist Djamila Bentouis was detained on March 3, 2024, for a song she wrote and performed which denounces the arrests and repression faced by Hirak activists. On July 4, 2024, Bentouis was sentenced to two years in prison and a 100,000 dinar fine on charges of terrorism, harming…
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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.…
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.