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
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,…
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Conditional ReleaseHadi Hakim Shahafi
Online Commentator, Scholar, TranslatorIranMiddle East and North AfricaAn online commentator and academic writer, Hadi Hakim Shahafi was first arrested in December 2019 and spent 10 days in detention. He was imprisoned on February 22, 2022, and released temporarily on April 28, 2022. Shahafi was rearrested on October 1, 2022 and sentenced to one year in prison for…
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Recorded HarassmentHafiz Ahmed
Poet, ScholarIndiaAsia-PacificHafiz Ahmed is one of the “Miya” (Bengali-language Muslim) poets charged in July 2019 after the online publication of his poem, “I am Miya,” which authorities claimed promoted sectarian enmity in the state of Assam. On July 17, 2019, all ten poets were granted anticipatory bail.
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DetainedHai Zhang
Journalist, Online CommentatorChinaAsia-PacificHai is a journalist and online activist. He was arrested and forcibly disappeared in February 2023 after expressing support for the “white-hair-movement,” an elderly group protesting health care reforms. In April 2023, Hai was charged with “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.” Since his arrest, he has been held incommunicado and…
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ImprisonedHailaite Niyazi
Journalist, Online CommentatorChina/Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous RegionAsia-PacificA former columnist, Niyazi also managed the Uyghurbiz website—Ilham Tohti’s website, which aimed to promote understanding between Uyghurs and Han Chinese—and worked as senior reporter for the Xinjiang Economic Daily. He had publicly criticized government policies toward Uyghurs. After a one-day sham trial in 2010, he was convicted of endangering…
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Custodial/Wrongful DeathHaji Mirzahid Kerimi
Editor, Literary writer, PoetChina/Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous RegionAsia-PacificKerimi, a former staff member of Kashgar Publishing House, was arrested and detained for his role in publishing books deemed “problematic” by Chinese authorities due to their “improper” political content. He also wrote novels focused on the golden age of Uyghur history. After numerous arrests since 1959, he was sentenced…
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ReleasedHajooj Kuka
Creative artistSudanSub-Saharan AfricaIn August 2020, authorities raided a cultural center in Khartoum where Hajooj Kuka and other artists were rehearsing a play at a threater workshop, following a reported noise complaint. Kuka, however, claims that non-state actors physically attacked participants of the workshop. In September, Kuka was briefly jailed on public nuisance…
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.