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
-
Status
Under ThreatHamid Mir
Journalist, Literary writer, Online CommentatorPakistanAsia-PacificOn April 24, 2024, journalist and author Hamid Mir filed a complaint to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) against Jan Achakzai, a former information minister, for defamation and insults on Twitter. On April 28, journalist Imran Riaz Khan reported threats against Mir, stating that “preparations are being made to take…
-
Status
On TrialHamza Kaan
Journalist, Online Commentator, TranslatorTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaHamza Kaan, a journalist, columnist, translator, and online commentator, is currently on trial on terrorism-related charges linked to his writings. He was first detained on November 26, 2024, along with others, due to articles published in Yeni Ozgur Politika and other platforms. His trial for alleged membership in a terrorist…
-
Status
ReleasedHaneen al-Masaeed
Activist, Online Commentator, Singer/SongwriterIsrael/Occupied Palestinian TerritoryMiddle East and North AfricaOn October 11, 2023, Israeli forces raided singer/songwriter and activist Haneen al-Masaeed’s home in Aida Camp in Bethlehem, confiscated her phone, and detained her. She was ultimately charged with incitement, but released on November 28, 2023. In January 2024, she gave an interview recounting her experience in the Israeli prison…
-
Status
ReleasedHanım Büşra Erdal
JournalistTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaOn July 26, 2016, reporter and columnist Hanım Büşra Erdal was detained and ordered to jail on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization” in a sweep of journalists writing for popular Turkish newspaper Zaman. Zaman was forced to close after the attempted 2016 coup. On March 8, 2018, she…
-
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…
-
Status
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.
-
Status
Conditional ReleaseHany 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…
-
Status
DetainedHany Sobhy
Literary writer, Online CommentatorEgyptMiddle East and North AfricaHany Sobhy is an Egyptian writer and online commentator arrested on October 22, 2025 in Cairo by National Security forces, reportedly over Facebook posts. He was held incommunicado before being brought before the Supreme State Security Prosecution and added to Case No. 7143 of 2025. His pretrial detention has been…
-
Status
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…
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.