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
ReleasedEnoh Meyomesse
Activist, Literary writer, Online CommentatorCameroonSub-Saharan AfricaIn November 2011, Meyomesse was arrested for attempting to organize a coup following a failed presidential bid challenging the 30-year rule of President Paul Biya. He served three years in prison and was released in April 2015. As of October 2022, Meyomesse resides in Germany.
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Continued HarassmentEnrique Márquez Jaramillo
Literary writer, Poet, ScholarMexicoAmericasMárquez Jaramillo is an award-winning historian, political scientist, and former politician who has published more than 30 books. In August 2022, he received two death threats for his criticism of the president. The threats are believed to have been related to an article in the El Universal newspaper. He reported…
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ReleasedEnver Aysever
Journalist, Online Commentator, ScholarTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaA sociologist and former columnist for the independent newspaper Cumhuriyet, Aysever was arrested in March 2021 for “provoking the public to hatred and hostility” by tweeting a political cartoon that appeared to criticize conservative Muslims in Türkiye. Released after one day, his column was terminated a few weeks later. In…
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Under ThreatErgün Poyraz
Literary writer, Online CommentatorTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaA literary writer, Poyraz is best known for his controversial views on the ruling AKP party and the faith-based Gülen movement. He wrote a best seller titled “The Children of Moses,” which accused Erdogan and his wife of being secret agents plotting with Israeli Intelligence to undermine Turkish secularism. On…
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MurderedEric Ohena Lembembe
Activist, Literary writerCameroonSub-Saharan AfricaA lawyer who represented LGBT clients, Lembembe’s mutilated body was found on July 15, 2013. Though the Cameroonian government denies reports that his murder was linked to LGBT activism, no substantive investigation has been conducted into his death.
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Displaced/In ExileErk Acarer
Journalist, Literary writer, Online CommentatorTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaAcarer is a Turkish columnist and author who has been living in exile in Berlin since 2017. On July 7, 2021, he was attacked outside of his home by assailants he suspected were associated with the ruling AKP-MHP government. A few days later, Acarer appeared on a hit list of…
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ImprisonedErmek Taichibekov
Online CommentatorKazakhstanEurope and Central AsiaInitially detained in 2017 for pro-Russian comments online and released after serving less than 2 years of his sentence, online commentator Taichibekov was rearrested in September 2020. He was found guilty of charges of “inciting ethnic discord” and sentenced to 7 years in prison in August 2021. Reports in 2023…
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On TrialErol Önderoğlu
Activist, JournalistTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaÖnderoğlu, a journalist, activist, and correspondent for Reporters Without Borders, was arrested after standing in solidarity with and serving as a ‘guest editor’ for Özgür Gündem, a pro-Kurdish newspaper that the Turkish government shut down in 2016. After years of trial proceedings, his 2019 acquittal was overturned in November 2020,…
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On TrialErtuğrul Mavioğlu
Creative artist, JournalistTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaVeteran journalist Mavioğlu was sentenced in 2019 to nearly 5 years in prison for “propagandizing for a terrorist organization” after screening Bakur, a film he co-directed with Çayan Demirel, in a mostly Kurdish-populated province during the Turkish-Kurdish peace process. In December 2023, he was sentenced to 2 years and 1…
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.