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.
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ImprisonedGendun Lhundrub
Literary writer, Online Commentator, Poet, ScholarChina/Tibet Autonomous RegionAsia-PacificGendun Lhundrub, a former monk and cultural activist, is known for his online writings supporting free expression. In December 2020, he was detained by Chinese authorities, and for over a year, his whereabouts remained unknown. In June 2022, reports revealed that Lhundrub had been held at Xining prison and had…
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Conditional ReleaseGeng Xiaonan
Activist, Creative artist, Publisher, ScholarChinaAsia-PacificPublisher and political activist Geng, and her husband Qin Zhen, were detained in September 2020 on charges of “running an illegal business” operation following Geng’s public support of writer-scholar Xu Zhangrun. After repeated bail rejections and denied access to counsel, Geng was sentenced to 3 years in prison in February…
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ImprisonedGheyratjan Osman
Literary writer, ScholarChina/Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous RegionAsia-PacificAfter being disappeared for more than a year, in May 2020 Gheyratjan Osman was confirmed to be imprisoned and serving a ten-year sentence for vague separatism charges. A scholar and professor of Uyghur culture and literature at Xinjiang University, Osman was detained during a crackdown on Uyghur cultural leaders and…
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Conditional ReleaseGheyret Abdurahman
Scholar, TranslatorChina/Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous RegionAsia-PacificUyghur scholar Abdurahman was detained in March 2018 for over a year after translating Nobel laureate Mo Yan’s book Red Sorghum because it was deemed “politically sensitive.” Abdurahman’s arrest came five years after the book was published by the Kashgar Publishing House.
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Displaced/In ExileGhilas Ainouche
Creative artistAlgeriaMiddle East and North AfricaIn July 2017, Aïnouche, a cartoonist and contributor to publications including Charlie Hebdo and Tout Sur L’Algérie, was harassed by police. In November, he was laid off from Tout Sur L’Algérie and his cartoons removed following a crackdown by authorities. Living in France since 2020, Aïnouche was sentenced to 10…
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ImprisonedGhoja’Abdulla Ablimit
Literary writerChina/Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous RegionAsia-PacificIn 2014, Ablimit, who writes under the pen name Sheyhim, was arrested after publishing satirical stories on Uyghur community websites. These stories included the Tohti Pokan Story Series, which garnered 50,000 readers. He also published the novel Earth in Ignorance on Misranim and Bagdax and met with a Uyghur language…
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MurderedGilaman Wazir
Activist, Online Commentator, PoetPakistanAsia-PacificAt Pakistan’s request, poet, activist, and online commentator Gilaman Wazir was arrested in Bahrain in 2020 and handed over to Pakistani authorities. He was arrested again by Pakistani authorities in July 2023 until January 2024. On July 7, 2024, Wazir was attacked by unknown gunmen believed to be linked to…
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Displaced/In ExileGioconda Belli
Literary writer, PoetNicaraguaAmericasWriter and poet Belli was one of three PEN Nicaragua members to be subjected to harassment through the circulation of an anonymous video which identified them as behind a terrorist conspiracy against the Nicaraguan government. Belli went into exile in February 2022, splitting her time between Spain and the United…
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Recorded HarassmentGlenn Greenwald
Journalist, Literary writerBrazilAmericasGreenwald was threatened via email and social media after the publication of an investigative series about corruption in Brazil’s “Operation Car Wash.” Accused of hacking public officials’ phones, he was charged with cybercrimes in January 2020, which were soon dropped. He resigned from The Intercept in October 2020 after alleging…
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.