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
Displaced/In ExileJack Mapanje
PoetMalawiSub-Saharan AfricaPoet, scholar, and literary critic Mapanje was arrested after publication of his first book, which the Malawi government subsequently banned. He was detained without charge from September 1987 until May 1991 for his collection Of Chameleons and Gods, which indriectly criticized the administration of President Hastins Banda. During his imprisonment,…
-
Status
Recorded HarassmentJacques Pauw
Journalist, Literary writerSouth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaIn 2017, the State Security Agency (SSA) threatened legal action and issued a cease and desist order against writer and journalist Jacques Pauw for his book The President’s Keepers: Those Keeping Zuma in Power. He faced continued defamation suits and threats as a result of his work, and in February…
-
Status
Conditional ReleaseJafar Panahi
Creative artist, DramatistIranMiddle East and North AfricaA prominent filmmaker, Panahi has long been subject to threats and his films banned. After a 2010 arrest with fellow filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof, Panahi was sentenced to six years, served under house arrest, and banned from travel and filmmaking. In July 2022, he was arrested along with two other filmmakers…
-
Status
Under ThreatJairo López
JournalistHondurasAmericasA member of PEN Honduras, López has been repeatedly arrested in retaliation for his political commentary and reporting, and has been prohibited from leaving the country and required to appear in court every 15 days. As of 2023, López reported that he is currently under police protection due to repeated…
-
Status
AcquittedJakub Zulczyk
Dramatist, Journalist, Literary writer, Online CommentatorPolandEurope and Central AsiaJournalist and novelist Zulczyk was indicted in March 2021 for publicly insulting the Polish president on social media. He was refused a grant for a translation of his new novel due to his expressed beliefs. Zulczyk was acquitted in January 2022 as the judge identified possible free speech infringements in…
-
Status
ReleasedJamal Al-Sayer
Activist, Literary writer, PoetKuwaitMiddle East and North AfricaKuwaiti public figure and poet Jamal Al-Sayer took to Twitter in July 2021 to post his poems about corruption in Kuwait. On July 5, 2021, he was arrested and detained at the Central Prison on multiple charges including ”spreading fake news” and “insulting the emir.” His detention was extended by…
-
Status
MurderedJamal Khashoggi
Journalist, Online CommentatorSaudi ArabiaMiddle East and North AfricaKhashoggi, a prominent columnist for The Washington Post and outspoken critic of the Saudi regime, was killed inside the Saudi consulate on October 2, 2018, where he had gone to obtain documents for his upcoming marriage. His death, which was carried out by a team of Saudi agents, was meticulously…
-
Status
Recorded HarassmentJames Church
Literary writerChina/MacauAsia-PacificIn March 2018, Church’s invitation to a literary festival in Macau was revoked after authorities said that his appearance there would be “untimely.” James Church is the pseudonym used by a former CIA agent who has written a series of detective novels.
-
Status
Conditional ReleaseJana Tsegla
Literary writer, Online Commentator, PublisherBelarusEurope and Central AsiaJana Tsegla is a writer of fairy tales and the founder of Masquerade, a magazine for young Belarusian artists. In April 2023, she was detained and held in pre-trial detention until late May, when she was sentenced to two years under house arrest. She was convicted under an article for…
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.