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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ImprisonedGulnisa Imin
Online Commentator, Poet, ScholarChina/Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous RegionAsia-PacificGulnisa Imin, a Uyghur literature teacher and poet, was known for her writings on Uyghur culture. In March 2018, on the 345th night of her poetry project “One Thousand and One Nights,” she disappeared. In December 2021, reports emerged revealing that she had been detained and sentenced to 17.5 years…
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ImprisonedGültekin Avcı
JournalistTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaAvcı, a former columnist at shuttered newspaper Bugün, was arrested following the failed July 2016 coup. His trial was merged with a separate trial where defendants were accused of different crimes, and he remains detained. He was briefly released mid-2019, only to have been rearrested and sentenced to life imprisonment…
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MurderedGüngör Arslan
JournalistTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaArslan, a columnist, was editor of the Ses Kocaeli newspaper. One of the newspapers he owned was shut down after the July 2016 coup. Arslan was murdered outside his office in February 2022. The initial suspect stated that his motive was Arslan’s writing. Arslan had been attacked on several occasions…
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ReleasedGuo Quan
Activist, Literary writer, ScholarChinaAsia-PacificJournalist Guo was released from prison in 2018 after serving a 10-year sentence for publishing a series of articles titled “Herald of Democracy,” which criticized the government. In February 2020, he was re-detained on charges of “incitement to subvert state power” following his critical comments about China’s COVID-19 pandemic policies.…
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Under ThreatGustavo Gorriti
Journalist, Literary writerPeruAmericasA veteran journalist and author of five Peruvian history books, Gorriti has faced multiple instances of harassment dating back to 1992. In February 2023, 30 protestors stood outside his house shouting insults at him, accusing him of speading fake news. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights determined that Gorriti is…
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Under ThreatGüvenç Dağüstün
Creative artist, Journalist, Online CommentatorTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaDağüstün is a singer, online commentator, and columnist who is a sharp critic of the government. In July 2021, he was detained due to his tweet criticizing academic Selman Öğüt, who is known to have close ties to the government. A few months later, on August 30, 2021, he was…
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DisappearedGuy-André Kieffer
JournalistCôte d’IvoireSub-Saharan AfricaIn April 2004, Kieffer, a French journalist, was kidnapped in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, and has not been seen since. Before his disappearance, he wrote for a French newspaper, revealing political corruption in the country. Despite multiple investigations, his fate remains unknown. Authorities presume he was murdered, but no conclusive evidence…
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Conditional ReleaseHabib Mousavi Bibilani
Online Commentator, PoetIranMiddle East and North AfricaHabib Mousavi Bibilani is a poet who also wrote opinions online. He was summoned to the authorities in July 2023 and detained for 2 weeks on charges of “confusing the public consciousness” and “propaganda.” He was released on bail. In September 2023, he was sentenced to a year in prison…
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MurderedHachalu Hundessa
Creative artist, Singer/SongwriterEthiopiaSub-Saharan AfricaMusician and activist Hundessa was shot and killed in Addis Ababa on June 29, 2020. His death sparked widespread unrest in the country, in which hundreds were killed. In 2021, three individuals were found guilty by an anti-terror court in Addis Ababa, however, no mastermind has been named. In 2023,…
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.