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
ImprisonedGo Sherab Gyatso
Literary writer, ScholarChina/Tibet Autonomous RegionAsia-PacificGyatso, author of We Need to Wake Up and several articles on Tibetan freedom of expression, was arrested on October 26, 2020, by Chinese State Security agents. Previously detained four times for his unpublished writings and activism, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison after a secret hearing in…
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MurderedGodwin Agbroko
JournalistNigeriaSub-Saharan AfricaGodwin Agbroko, the editorial board chairman of This Day newspaper and a longtime news editor, was arrested multiple times for his outspoken work in 1995 and 1996, facing government repression for his critical reporting. He was released in 1997, shortly after receiving PEN’s prestigious Freedom to Write Award. Tragically, Agbroko…
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ConvictedGökçe Fırat Çulhaoğlu
Activist, Journalist, Literary writer, Online CommentatorTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaÇulhaoğlu is a prolific author and lead columnist for the political publication Türk Solu. His writing and tweets served as evidence of terrorism charges, leading to an over 6-year prison sentence in 2018. In 2020, his conviction was overturned, but again re-opened for trial. In January 2025, he was found…
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Continued HarassmentGökhan Özbek
Journalist, Online CommentatorTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaGökhan Özbek was first detained for 11 days on December 16, 2016, for “insulting the president” in a series of tweets. In September 2017, he was rearrested for the same tweets, and in September 2018, Ozbek was sentenced to 11 months and 20 days in prison for insulting President Erdogan…
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On TrialGökhan Yavuzel
Journalist, Literary writer, Online Commentator, PoetTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaYavuzel is a Kurdish author and commentator. In July 2021, he was attacked after appearing on a hitlist of Turkish dissidents. Since then, authorities issued warrants for Yavuzel’s arrest for “insulting the president” and other charges related to his writing. Living in exile in the UK, he was forced to…
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Displaced/In ExileGoli Shadkam
Literary writer, Online Commentator, Poet, ScholarIranMiddle East and North AfricaAfter a long history of summonings and threats from Iranian authorities, Kurdish social science researcher and writer Goli Shadkam moved to Canada, where she would continue to author several influential books on various Kurdish issues, including Kurdish poetry and language preservation. On July 20, 2024, Shadkam publicly reported that she…
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ImprisonedGolrokh Ebrahimi Iraee
Activist, Literary writerIranMiddle East and North AfricaHuman rights activist Iraee was first sentenced to 6 years in prison in 2014 on charges related to an unpublished short story criticizing the practice of stoning. Released in April 2019, she was charged for her advocacy from prison and re-arrested in November. She was released in May 2022 only…
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ReleasedGongan Chen
Online CommentatorChinaAsia-PacificGongan Chen is an online commentator with a history of defending democratic rights. On September 9, 2022, he was detained after posting political messages in a WeChat group as part of a conversation with other human rights defenders. On October 14, 2022, he was formally arrested, and in June 2023,…
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ReleasedGonpo Tenzin
Singer/SongwriterChina/Tibet Autonomous RegionAsia-PacificTenzin was arrested in 2013 on unknown charges and kept in pretrial detention for over a year without access to legal resources before his trial began. He spent three and a half years in prison in connection with his song ‘Where is the New Year in Tibet.’
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.