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
-
Status
Conditional ReleaseFariba Adelkhah
Literary writer, ScholarIranMiddle East and North AfricaFrench-Iranian anthropologist Adelkhah was detained in June 2019 while visiting Iran to conduct research. In May 2020, she was sentenced to six years on propaganda and national security charges. She was released in October 2020 into house arrest, but was reimprisoned in 2022 for allegedly violating the rules of her…
-
Status
ImprisonedFarid Mehralizada
JournalistAzerbaijanEurope and Central AsiaMehralizada is an economist who has criticized Azerbaijan’s use of fossil fuels. He was arrested in May 2024 ahead of the COP29 protests and remanded to pretrial detention. In August, he was charged with smuggling, illegal entrepreneurship, tax evasion, and falsifying documents. He is currently on trial. He previously wrote…
-
Status
ReleasedFarshid Ghorbanpour
Journalist, Literary writer, Online Commentator, TranslatorIranMiddle East and North AfricaA columnist, literary writer, and online commentator, Ghorbanpour was arrested at his home on September 25, 2022. Security forces pepper sprayed him and beaten him before taking him into custody without a warrant. He was released on December 7, 2022. His arrest was condemned by press freedom groups, and his…
-
Status
Conditional ReleaseFatemeh Hasani
Online Commentator, ScholarIranMiddle East and North AfricaFatemeh Hasani is a sociologist who wrote multiple academic articles as well as several non-academic publications. Upon returning to Iran from a trip abroad, Hasani was arrested at Mashhad airport on July 6, 2023 in connection with her political commentary on the social platform Clubhouse. Hasani’s arrest is reportedly part…
-
Status
ImprisonedFatima Al-Shawarbi
Online CommentatorSaudi ArabiaMiddle East and North AfricaArrested in November 2020, Fatima Al-Shawarbi is an activist who tweeted from an anonymous account, using a pseudonym. On May 31, 2023, the Specialized Criminal Court convicted Al-Shawarbi for criticizing Saudi Arabia’s treatment of the Howeitat tribe, and sentenced her to 30 years in prison and a 30-year and 6-month…
-
Status
ConvictedFatima Naoot
Journalist, Literary writer, Poet, TranslatorEgyptMiddle East and North AfricaLong famous for her politically-charged poetry, Naoot was sentenced to three years in prison in 2016 for defaming Islam in a Facebook post critical of the Eid al-Adha tradition of slaughtering animals. Her appeal was dismissed in March 2016 after she and her lawyer failed to appear in court. In…
-
Status
DisappearedFayez Bin Damakh
Journalist, PoetSaudi ArabiaMiddle East and North AfricaBin Damakh, a Saudi journalist and poet, was reported missing in September 2017, just days before he was set to launch a TV news channel named “The Arabian Peninsula” in Kuwait. The channel aimed to restore Arab confidence in politicized television news and address issues such as poverty, unemployment, and…
-
Status
ConvictedFazel Torkaman
Literary writer, PoetIranMiddle East and North AfricaTorkaman is an author and poet of ten published works including The Girl Who Wiped My Tears. He was summoned to court and then arrested before being immediately released on a 500 million toman bail. He was later charged with “propaganda against the regime” and denied legal representation. Torkaman was…
-
Status
ReleasedFazil Say
Creative artist, Literary writerTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaOn May 25, 2012, renowned composer, pianist, and writer Fazil Say was charged with religious defamation in connection with a series of social media posts criticizing religious intolerance and extremism. In 2013, he received a 10-month prison sentence suspended for five years, but was acquitted on appeal in 2016. In…
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.