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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In May 2020 the head of the Mingachevir Public Utilities Department filed a lawsuit against blogger Salamov and Elchin Hasanzade for writing articles that speculated about corrupt practices in the department. The pair was sentenced to community service for “slander” and “defamation”; however, on appeal in March 2021, their sentence…
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Belarusian stand-up comedian Mirzalizade was attacked by two men in June 2021 for a joke that was alleged to be insulting to ethnic Russians. In August, he was sentenced to 10 days in prison. Following his imprisonment, Miralizade was banned from visiting Russia until 2035. He filed a lawsuit against…
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Popular Tigrinya-language singer/songwriter Idris Mohamed Ali was arrested and detained without charge in November 2005. He has been held incommunicado since; rumors of his death have circulated online but have not been confirmed by the state.
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Freelance journalist and author of short fiction Idris Said was arrested in October 2001, after questioning the arrests en masse of his colleagues following the September 11 attacks. Since his arrest, he has been detained incommunicado without charges.
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Bancer, lyricist and frontman for band Mister X, was detained in October 2020 for his partially nude protest in front of police. He was charged with hooliganism, likely due to his artistic profile and activism. After serving a total of roughly a year in a correctional facility, he was released…
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Cibelik is a member of activist collective and band Grup Yorum. Since the band’s inception, its critical songs have angered the Turkish government and members have faced serious threats. Cibelik is on the wanted terrorists list of the Ministry of Interior. On May 18, 2022, Cibelik was arrested in Karlsruhe,…
Writers at Risk Database Key:
STATUS box that is red: Active case
STATUS box that is black: Inactive case
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.
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.