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
ReleasedHanna Komar
Poet, TranslatorBelarusEurope and Central AsiaPoet and activist Komar was detained on September 8, 2020 during a peaceful march in support of detained activists. She served nine days of administrative arrest in Akrestsina and Zhodzina prisons, and has continued to be harassed by the state. She received further summons from the Zavadski district police department…
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Recorded HarassmentHansda Sowvendra Shekhar
Journalist, Literary writerIndiaAsia-PacificShekhar is a doctor and writer targeted for his writing on the Santhal community. In August 2017, after protestors burned his effigy and books, local authorities banned the sale of his work and dismissed him from his post. The ban was lifted and Shekhar re-assigned in 2018.
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DetainedHany Babu
Literary writer, ScholarIndiaAsia-PacificA professor of English literature and language, Babu faces charges of “propagating” communist activities, Maoist ideologies, and plotting anti-state attacks as part of the baseless Bhima Koregaon case, under which authorities detained numerous writers and intellectuals. He was hospitalized for a severe eye infection in May 2021 after being repeatedly…
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DeceasedHasan Basri Aydın
Literary writer, ScholarTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaWriter and retired literature professor Hasan Basri Aydın has been imprisoned 27 times for his writing. He was detained at the airport in September 2020 on charges of insulting two officials after returning to Istanbul for medical treatment. He was officially arrested and then released into house arrest, and was…
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ReleasedHasan Cemal
Journalist, Literary writerTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaHasan Cemal was first arrested and given a suspended sentence of one year and three months in jail in 2017 and for writing an article titled “Fehman Huseyin.” He was then sentenced to another 3 months and 22 days over a PKK withdrawal report in April 2018, as well as…
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ReleasedHaseeb Ahrari
PoetAfghanistanAsia-PacificA poet who writes on themes of freedom and patriotism, Ahrari was arrested in his home in Kabul by the Taliban upon his return from a trip to Iran on June 1, 2023. He had been held without charge or explanation for nearly two months, sparking international concern from PEN…
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ReleasedHassan Nafaa
Journalist, ScholarEgyptMiddle East and North AfricaPolitical science professor Nafaa was arrested in September 2019 just days after he criticized President El-Sisi in the press. His detention was part of a wave of 1,400 dissident arrests in the wake of mass protests against the Sisi regime. He was released in March 2020. In August 2021, hours…
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ReleasedHatem Al-Najjar
Journalist, Online CommentatorSaudi ArabiaMiddle East and North AfricaHatem al-Najjar is a journalist and online commentator, known for hosting the podcast “Muraba’a”. In January 2024, a pro-government social media campaign targeted him after his podcast announced plans for an international radio platform, causing old tweets from 2014 to resurface and circulate online. On January 14, 2024, after publicly…
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ReleasedHatoon Al-Fassi
Activist, Journalist, ScholarSaudi ArabiaMiddle East and North AfricaAl-Fassi is a historian of women’s history, author, columnist, and leading women’s rights activist. On June 27, 2018, Al-Fassi was detained as a part of a crackdown on women’s rights defenders. Authorities provisionally released Al-Fassi on May 2, 2019. She later resumed her scholarly work, publishing on women’s history and…
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.