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
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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ConvictedErtuğrul 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…
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ReleasedEşber Yağmurdereli
Dramatist, Literary writer, PoetTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaBlind human rights activist and lawyer Eşber Yağmurdereli has spent nearly 20 years in prison on various charges related to comments about Türkiye’s human rights abuses and advocacy for Kurdish rights. Most recently, he was arrested in 1997 for a speech he gave six years earlier on Kurdish issues and…
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ReleasedEskinder Nega
Journalist, Online CommentatorEthiopiaSub-Saharan AfricaNega served over 6 years of an 18-year sentence for his critical writing; he was ultimately released in April 2018. In July 2020, after returning to Ethiopia from exile and becoming politically active, he was detained amid major protests in Addis Ababa and held for nearly 18 months before being…
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DetainedEsqer Gheni
Online Commentator, TranslatorChina/Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous RegionAsia-PacificBlogger and founder of “Bilik Salon,” Esqer Gheni has been teaching English and translating books on trauma and recovery to aid and inform the Uyghur community. His translations and audio content aim to make English literature accessible to Uyghurs. He previously worked at foreign language schools but quit when they…
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ImprisonedEssam Al-Zamil
Journalist, Online Commentator, ScholarSaudi ArabiaMiddle East and North AfricaA well-known economist, Al-Zamil was detained in September 2017 for his writing criticizing Aramco, the Saudi national oil company, and its inflated valuation on the stock market. He reportedly has faced abuse in detention. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison on October 7, 2020 on terrorism charges. On…
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ImprisonedÉtienne Fakaba Sissoko
Literary writer, Online Commentator, ScholarMaliSub-Saharan AfricaMalian economist and professor Étienne Fakaba Sissoko was arrested on March 25, 2024, after publishing a book criticizing the military junta’s use of propaganda. On May 20, 2024, Sissoko was sentenced to two years in jail, with one year suspended, and a fine of XOF 3 million on charges of…
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DetainedExmet Momin Tarimi
Literary writer, ScholarChina/Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous RegionAsia-PacificUyghur writer and scholar Exmet Momin Tarimi was pursuing a Ph.D. in history at Nanjing University. In December 2017, he disappeared following disagreements with his advisor over his research on Yaqup Beg and self-governance in East Turkistan/Xinjiang. He had published over 70 academic articles and several books, served as an…
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Conditional ReleaseFadhel Al-Manasef
Activist, Online CommentatorSaudi ArabiaMiddle East and North AfricaA prominent young human rights defender, Al-Manasef was arrested in October 2011 and, in 2014, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on various trumped-up charges, including organizing protests and posting articles online. He was fined 100,000 Riyals and banned from traveling for 15 years after his release. Both the…
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.