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
Conditional ReleaseEduardo Galindo Peña
Journalist, Literary writer, Online CommentatorVenezuelaAmericasGalindo Peña was detained on April 15, 2020 in a warrantless home raid by the National Anti-Extortion and Kidnapping Command and brought to court 96 hours later for writing on his website Senderos de Apure. Galindo Peña’s relatives were also detained after refusing to give the writer’s computer to authorities.…
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ReleasedÉgide Harerimana
Journalist, Literary writerBurundiSub-Saharan AfricaShort story writer and reporter Harerimana was arrested with other members of the Iwacu staff in October 2019 while investigating clashes between security forces and armed groups. In January 2020, he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for threatening state security; meanwhile, his four colleagues received…
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ImprisonedEgor Shtovba
PoetRussiaEurope and Central AsiaIn 2022, Shtovba was arrested along with others at the Mayakovsky Readings in Moscow. The next day, Artem Kamardin was arrested in relation to the case. The three poets of the Mayakovsky group were detained and charged with “public calls for activities directed against the security of the state, committed…
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Displaced/In ExileEkrem Dumanli
Dramatist, JournalistTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaThe former editor-in-chief of the popular Turkish newspaper Zaman, Dumanli was arrested in December 2014 in a crackdown on journalists associated with the Gülenist movement. Although he was released due to lack of evidence, his newspaper was shuttered in July 2016. Dumanli fled the country in 2020.
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ReleasedElchin Hasanzade
Activist, Online CommentatorAzerbaijanEurope and Central AsiaIn May 2020 the head of the Mingachevir Public Utilities Department filed a lawsuit against blogger Hasanzade and Ibrahim Salamov for writing articles that speculated about corrupt practices in the department. The pair was sentenced to community service for “slander” and “defamation”; however, on appeal in March 2021, their sentence…
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Displaced/In ExileElena Kostyuchenko
Journalist, Literary writerRussiaEurope and Central AsiaKostyuchenko is an exiled journalist and writer. After the outbreak of Russia’s war on Ukraine, she was forced to leave a reporting assignment in Mariupol after learning of an assassination order against her. She was reportedly poisoned in October 2022 in Germany. She believes Russian authorities were responsible, but her…
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ReleasedElie Kamano
Activist, Creative artist, Singer/SongwriterGuineaSub-Saharan AfricaFollowing a peaceful demonstration against President Alpha Condé’s third term in October, singer/songwriter Elie Kamano was arrested for ‘participation in a gathering likely to disturb public order.’ In November, Kamano was released following a successful appeal.
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Conditional ReleaseElnaz Mohammadi
JournalistIranMiddle East and North AfricaColumnist Elnaz Mohammadi was summoned to the prosecutor’s office for questioning on February 5, 2023. She had previously expressed support for the anti-government protests in Iran online. She was arrested that day and spent 7 days in detention. She was released on bail on February 12, 2023 but sentenced to…
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.