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
DeceasedHelin Bölek
Creative artist, Singer/SongwriterTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaSinger Bölek was a member of the activist collective and band Grup Yorum. Since the band’s inception, its politically critical songs have angered the Turkish government, and its members have consistently faced serious threats, harassment, repeated arrests, concert bans, and censorship. After her release from prison and 288 days into…
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Recorded HarassmentHenry Sawpon
PoetBangladeshAsia-PacificHenry Sawpon, a Bangladeshi poet, was arrested on May 14, 2019, after a local Catholic priest filed a complaint with Kotwali police, accusing Sawpon of hurting religious sentiments through his social media posts. Sawpon was released on bail the following day. His case has since gone dormant, and there have…
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ImprisonedHesameddin Farzizadeh
Literary writerIranMiddle East and North AfricaFarzizadeh was arrested in 2013 after writing his book From Islam to Islam, which raised critical questions about Shi’a Islam. He was convicted of apostasy and insulting the Prophet Mohammed, the Shi’a Imams, and Ayatollah Khomeini, which carries the death penalty, and was sentenced to seven years in prison and…
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ReleasedHesham Gaafar
Journalist, Literary writer, ScholarEgyptMiddle East and North AfricaGaafar was detained without warrant in October 2015 for suspected involvement with the banned Muslim Brotherhood. He was accused of illegally receiving funds from foreign donors to support his Foundation’s activities. His detention was renewed every 45 days by the Supreme State Security Prosecution.He was held for 41 months in…
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Continued HarassmentHeyman Rahimi
Journalist, TranslatorIranMiddle East and North AfricaHeyman Rahimi, an Iranian translator and journalist based in Tehran, was summoned by authorities on November 3, 2025, during a broader crackdown on leftist scholars and translators. During the operation, his books and electronic devices were confiscated. He has written articles for Critique of Political Economy, a journal run by…
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ReleasedHiba Abu Taha
Journalist, Online CommentatorJordanMiddle East and North AfricaAbu Taha is a Jordanian-Palestinian freelance investigative journalist and online commentator. In June 2023, the Amman Criminal Court sentenced her to three months in prison for defaming an official entity. She was detained in August and released on appeal the next day. In May 2024, she was re-arrested for her…
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Continued HarassmentHiba Ezzideen Al-Hajji
Activist, Online CommentatorSyriaMiddle East and North AfricaHiba Ezzideen al-Hajji, a Syrian activist and online commentator, faced harassment in April 2025 after posting on Facebook about disappeared women, forced marriage, and lack of accountability. Authorities accused her of insulting the hijab and falsely claimed she was an Assad agent. She faced a coordinated defamation campaign, death threats,…
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ReleasedHisham Fouad Mohamed AbdelHalim
Activist, Journalist, Online CommentatorEgyptMiddle East and North AfricaA columnist for Mada Masr, Fouad was detained in June 2019 and charged with participating in a Muslim Brotherhood plot to overthrow the Sisi regime. After beginning a hunger strike in July 2021, he was moved to solitary confinement and denied medical treatment for his suffering health. He was handed…
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ReleasedHisham Kassem
Journalist, Online CommentatorEgyptMiddle East and North AfricaHisham Kassem, former publisher of Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper and a free speech advocate, was detained on August 21, 2023 for four days for allegedly insulting a public employee. On September 16, 2023, Kassem was sentenced to 6 months in prison for slandering and defaming former minister and current member of…
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.