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
ImprisonedIhar Melnikov
Literary writer, ScholarBelarusEurope and Central AsiaIhar Melnikov is a historian who was detained in January 2024 for an interview he had given to Euroradio, a dissident media outlet banned in the country, two years prior His trial began in September. He was convicted and sentenced to 4 years in prison for “collaborating with an extremist…
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Imprisonedİhsan Cibelik
Creative artist, Singer/SongwriterGermanyEurope and Central AsiaCibelik 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 the Interior. On May 18, 2022, Cibelik was arrested in…
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Conditional ReleaseIhsane El Kadi
JournalistAlgeriaMiddle East and North AfricaEl 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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Displaced/In ExileIleana Álvarez
Journalist, Literary writer, PoetCubaAmericasÁlvarez González, founder of Alas Tensas (Tense Wings), launched Cuba’s first feminist magazine in 2016. The independent outlet courageously centers on gender-based violence, femicide, LGBTQ+ rights, and Afro-Cuban women’s representation—topics typically marginalized in Cuban media. Her activism quickly drew state scrutiny and harassment, targeting not only her but also her…
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ImprisonedIlham Tohti
Online Commentator, ScholarChinaAsia-PacificTohti, an influential Uyghur writer and economist, co-founded the website Uyghurbiz. He was arrested at Beijing airport in January 2014, and found guilty of separatism and sentenced to life imprisonment in September 2014. Tohti had endured years of repeated instances of harassment and detentions for his peaceful advocacy for the…
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Releasedİlhan Sami Çomak
PoetTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaKurdish 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. After decades in prison, he was released in November…
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ReleasedImad Abu Awad
Journalist, Online CommentatorIsrael/Occupied Palestinian TerritoryMiddle East and North AfricaAs 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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DetainedImad Al-Ifranji
JournalistIsrael/Occupied Palestinian TerritoryMiddle East and North AfricaPalestinian columnist Imad al-Ifranji was found in Israeli custody after he went missing during Israel’s attack on Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital on March 19, 2024. The next day, Israeli forces raided the family home and occupied the house for several hours, interrogating his children. In November 2024, it was reported that…
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ReleasedImad Barghouthi
Online Commentator, ScholarIsrael/Occupied Palestinian TerritoryMiddle East and North AfricaPalestinian astrophysicist and professor Barghouthi was arrested on June 16, 2020, without explanation. On August 2, he was charged with “incitement and support for a hostile organization.” Bargouthi was released on June 1, 2021, but was re-arrested on October 23, 2023. On November 1, he was sentenced to six months…
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.