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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El Kadi is the director of the independent media outlets Radio M and Maghreb Emergent. In May 2022, he was convicted of “dissemination of false information to undermine national unity” among other charges. In December, El Kadi was arrested and Radio M and Maghreb Emergent were shut down. In April…
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The founder of a feminist magazine, Álvarez faced consistent government harrassment for her work, which centers on highlighting issues of gender violence in Cuba. She and her husband, prominent author Francis Sánchez, fled Cuba into exile in Spain in August 2018.
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Tohti, an influential Uyghur writer and economist, co-founded the website Uyghurbiz. In September 2014, following repeated instances of harassment and detention, he was found guilty of separatism and sentenced to life imprisonment. Since 2017, he has been held incommunicado.
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Kurdish poet Çomak was arrested in 1994 and sentenced to life in prison for membership in the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party. While in prison, he has published eight books of poetry, gaining international recognition as one of Türkiye’s longest-serving political prisoners. He was denied release despite qualifying for it in…
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As director of the Al-Quds Center for Palestinian and Israeli Studies, Abu Awad shared political analysis and opinion on multiple Facebook accounts, as well as providing commentary to international news outlets. In October 2023, Israeli forces searched his office in the West Bank, confiscated his phone and laptop, and arrested…
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Palestinian astrophysicist and professor Barghouthi was arrested on June 16, 2020. On August 2, 2020, after being detained for more than two weeks without explanation, he was charged with “incitement and support for a hostile organization” because of his Facebook posts. Bargouthi was released on June 1, 2021 after nearly…
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A columnist, essayist, and online commentator, Behpasand was arrested on September 22, 2022. Security officers raided his home in Tehran confiscating his mobile phone and laptop in the middle of the night. He was later transferred to Evin Prison in Tehran. Behpasand was released in February 2023.
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Uyghur historian and publisher Seydin disappeared in 2017 and was sentenced to 15 years in prison for “inciting extremism” in late 2019, likely for his involvement in publishing an Arabic grammar book. In May 2020, via a video released by state-affiliated China Daily, Seydin stated he was not detained; however,…
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.