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
Recorded HarassmentIsmael El-Bozom
Creative artist, Online CommentatorPalestinian TerritoriesMiddle East and North AfricaOfficers in the Hamas-controlled General Investigation Unit arrested El-Bozom on March 20, 2020 over cartoons he had posted on Facebook calling for the release of writer Abdullah Abu Sharkh. El-Bozom was released conditionally on March 22, 2020. The next day, he posted on Facebook that he would file a complaint…
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ReleasedIsmail Alexandrani
Journalist, ScholarEgyptMiddle East and North AfricaAlexandrani is a researcher and journalist who studies extremism and counterterrorism in the North Sinai. He was arrested in November 2015 and charged with baseless crimes, including “publishing government secrets” and joining the Muslim Brotherhood. After 2 years in pretrial detention, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison by…
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On TrialIsmail Ari
Journalist, Literary writerTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaOn September 19, 2023, writer and journalist Ismail Ari reported that he had received death threats due to his reporting on the Menzil community. The Turkish authorities, however, failed to act on his criminal complaints. In June and September 2024, two investigations were launched against Ari for his book, Menzil…
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ReleasedIsraa Al-Aboushi
Literary writer, Online CommentatorIsrael/Occupied Palestinian TerritoryMiddle East and North AfricaBlogger, writer, and poet Israa al-Aboushi was detained from her home in Khallet al-Sawha in Jenin on November 20, 2024. While initially taken to Salem military camp, the Salam Military Court extended her detention, accusing her of incitement due to her writings about Palestinian prisoners. She was then transferred to…
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ReleasedIsraa Lafi
Journalist, Online CommentatorIsrael/Occupied Palestinian TerritoryMiddle East and North AfricaIsraa Lafi, a Palestinian journalist and blogger, was first arrested in 2018 from her home in Hebron after reportedly being threatened by Israeli authorities for her past work with Al-Aqsa TV. After being detained without charges and transferred between prisons while her hearings were repeatedly postponed, she was released in…
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Recorded ThreatItatí Schvartzman
Activist, PoetArgentinaAmericasSchvartzman is a Jewish feminist activist originally from Uruguay who has faced harassment for her writing. In 2018, she received death threats via Facebook. In late 2019 she was the victim of an attempted armed robbery, although is unclear if the incident was related to her activism. No threats against…
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ImprisonedIvan Safronov
JournalistRussiaEurope and Central AsiaInvestigative journalist Safronov was arrested in July 2020 for allegedly passing along classified information to Czech intelligence. He was held in pretrial detention for over two years. The charges do not specify who he provided the materials to. In September 2022, Safronov was sentenced to 22 years in prison. He…
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DetainedIzatullah Zawab
PoetAfghanistanAsia-PacificZawab is a poet and editor of Meena literary magazine who has written poetry critical of the Taliban and their treatment of women and girls in Afghanistan. He was arrested by the Taliban on January 24, 2024 and is detained on undisclosed charges. His family remains concerned for his health,…
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ReleasedJ.S. Tissainayagam
JournalistSri LankaAsia-PacificIn August 2009, writer and journalist Tissainayagam was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment with hard labor under the Prevention of Terrorism Act for “causing communal disharmony” with reporting on conflict in northern Sri Lanka in 2006. He has now been released. On May 3, 2010, World Press Freedom Day, he…
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.