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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ImprisonedAbdulhadi Al-Khawaja
Activist, Literary writer, PoetBahrainMiddle East and North AfricaIn the 1990s, Danish-Bahraini activist Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja was exiled to Denmark. He returned to Bahrain in 2001 but was arrested in September 2004 after condemning the Prime Minister’s role in human rights abuses and Bahrain’s poor economic development. Following his release by royal pardon that October, he played a key…
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ImprisonedAbduljalil Al-Singace
Online Commentator, ScholarBahrainMiddle East and North AfricaAwarded the PEN Pinter international writer of courage prize in 2022, Al-Singace is serving a life sentence for his human rights activism. Suffering from post-polio syndrome, his health has severely declined during his detention. He began an extended hunger strike in July 2021 to protest poor conditions, mistreatment, and confiscation…
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DeceasedAbdullah Abu Sharkh
Literary writer, Online CommentatorPalestinian TerritoriesMiddle East and North AfricaWriter Abdullah Mohammed Abu Sharkh was detained by Hamas forces on March 13, 2020 and interrogated about social media posts in which he had criticized the Hamas authorities. Charged with “spreading false news” and “misuse of technology,” he was released on April 9. Abu Sharkh passed away on September 17,…
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On TrialAbdullah Al-Duhailan
Journalist, Literary writerSaudi ArabiaMiddle East and North AfricaAl-Duhailan, a novelist and advocate for Palestinian rights, was arrested in April 2019 without an official reason, after reporting on Saudi women defying the driving ban. In early 2021, he was conditionally released with other activists and writers. Despite this, he remains on trial, but no public dates have been…
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MurderedAbdullah Atefi
Literary writer, Poet, ScholarAfghanistanAsia-PacificAbdullah Atefi, a historian, writer, and poet, was a public figure whose extensive body of work focused on Pashtun culture and literature and was regularly featured in regional publications. Atefi was taken from his home in Afghanistan’s Uruzgan province and murdered on August 4, 2021; reports say he was also…
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ImprisonedAbdullah Benaoum
Journalist, Online CommentatorAlgeriaMiddle East and North AfricaBenaoum has been repeatedly arrested since 2018 for criticizing the Algerian government online and through protests. Detained in December 2019, he faced multiple charges and was sentenced in 2021 to two years in prison. After a 154-day hunger strike, he was released without conditions on February 3, 2022. He was…
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ReleasedAbdullah Habib
Creative artist, Literary writerOmanMiddle East and North AfricaIn recent years, writer and filmmaker Abdullah Habib has been subjected to multiple detentions for his criticism of the Omani government and controversial online statements on religion. Most recently, Habib was detained for more than two months during 2018.
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ImprisonedAbdullah Jelan
Online CommentatorSaudi ArabiaMiddle East and North AfricaJelan, an online commentator who studied in the U.S., returned to Saudi Arabia only to find that his degree was not recognized, leaving him jobless. Frustrated, he became highly critical of the Saudi government on Twitter, raising issues about his education and employment situation. His outspoken criticism led to his…
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ReleasedAbdullah Kılıç
Journalist, Online CommentatorTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaColumnist Abdullah Kılıç was first detained by the police in July 2016, in the direct aftermath of the failed coup against the government of President Erdogan. He was accused of being a follower of exiled preacher Fethullah Gülen. In 2018, Kılıç was convicted of “membership in a terrorist organization” and…
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.