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
ReleasedDarya Kozyreva
Activist, Online CommentatorRussiaEurope and Central AsiaDarya Kozyreva is an outspoken activist who has opposed Russia’s war in Ukraine since her teenage years. She was briefly detained in August 2022 for tearing pro-war symbols off military vehicles, but did not face further charges as she was a minor. She was detained again in December 2022 for…
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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.
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ReleasedDaw Khin Than Wai
PoetMyanmarAsia-PacificPoet Daw Khin Than Wai, also known by her pen name Wa Thone Dray, was arrested on March 27, 2021, while participating in a peaceful protest organized by poets on Pansodan Road in downtown Yangon. The demonstration was part of a broader cultural resistance movement against Myanmar’s February 1 military…
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MurderedDawa Khan Menapal
JournalistAfghanistanAsia-PacificA former journalist and presidential spokesperson, Menapal worked as the head of the Afghan government’s Media and Information Center and sought to form ties with the journalist community. Menapal promoted media pluralism to challenge the Taliban’s propaganda. He was murdered by the militant group on August 6, 2021, one day…
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DetainedDawit Isaak
Dramatist, Journalist, Literary writerEritreaSub-Saharan AfricaCo-owner of the newspaper Setit, Swedish-Eritrean journalist and playwright Isaak has been detained incommunicado since 2001 as part of the government’s sweeping crackdown on print media following the September 11 attacks. Isaak has been reportedly tortured and held in solitary confinement, drawing grave concern for his health. Despite his dual…
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Conditional ReleaseDawood Al-Ali
Online CommentatorSaudi ArabiaMiddle East and North AfricaBlogger and active Twitter commentator Dawood Al-Ali was arrested in December 2020 following several tweets he posted in which he criticized Saudi Arabia’s normalization of relations with Israel. In September 2022, Al-Ali was sentenced to 25 years in prison by the Specialized Criminal Court in Riyadh. In December 2024, however,…
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Continued HarassmentDejan Ilic
JournalistSerbiaEurope and Central AsiaDejan Ilić, a Serbian journalist and columnist for Peščanik, was briefly detained in Belgrade on April 10, 2025, on allegations of “causing panic and disorder” following comments he made about protests during a March 29, 2025 television broadcast. He was released the same day. His remarks, made on the show…
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Displaced/In ExileDeng Liting
Activist, Literary writerChinaAsia-PacificDeng Liting is a Chinese writer, essayist, and poet who writes under the name Mo Lu online. Among her work includes a novel titled The Lost World, which alongside her other writing, has been taken down from the Chinese internet. In June 2025, she posted a video and poem supporting…
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.