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
ImprisonedJimmy Lai
JournalistChina/Hong KongAsia-PacificApple Daily publisher and opinion writer Lai was arrested in August 2020 for violating Hong Kong’s National Security Law. Released on bail a month later, Lai was soon targeted in a police raid on the paper’s office. In December 2020, he was detained for “fraud,” among other charges, and was…
-
Status
ReleasedJin Andi
Literary writerChinaAsia-PacificAfter assisting between 2000 and 2010 in the editing and publication of articles critical of Jiang Zemin, the former Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, Jin was sentenced to eight years in prison. He was released upon expiry of his sentence in January 2019.
-
Status
Recorded ThreatJineth Bedoya Lima
Activist, JournalistColombiaAmericasBedoya was abducted twice while reporting: she was kidnapped, raped, and tortured while preparing for an interview with a paramilitary group leader in 2000; and was abducted in 2003 while reporting on FARC-controlled territories. With security, Bedoya continues to report and write columns. In 2021, the Inter-American Court of Human…
-
Status
Recorded HarassmentJo Clifford
Creative artist, Dramatist, PoetBrazilAmericasClifford has faced police harassment, death and rape threats, and attempted physical attacks in for authoring O Segundo Jesus, Rainha do Céu, a play that explores the multiplicity of trans communities. Her cast and crew in Brazil have also faced intimidation, with police dismantling the stage mid-performance in 2018 and…
-
Status
ReleasedJo Lobsang Jamyang
Literary writer, PoetChina/Tibet Autonomous RegionAsia-PacificJamyang, a blogger and writer who has written on free speech, environmental issues, and social movements, was arrested in 2015 and sentenced in 2016 to seven and a half years in prison for “leaking state secrets.” He was reportedly denied access to a lawyer during his trial and was held…
-
Status
Continued HarassmentJoão Paulo Cuenca
Creative artist, Dramatist, Journalist, Literary writer, Online CommentatorBrazilAmericasIn response to a satirical tweet involving then-president Jair Bolsonaro, writer and filmmaker Cuenca has been subjected to over 140 targeted lawsuits from state officials and religious leaders since 2020, primarily from the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God. These lawsuits demand damages totaling more than one million Brazilian…
-
Status
AcquittedJordi Cuixart
Activist, Literary writer, PoetSpainEurope and Central AsiaCuixart is a Catalan poet who advocates for the region’s independence. In October 2019, Cuixart, already detained, received a nine-year prison sentence and ban on holding office for sedition. In early 2021, he was partially released from prison. On June 22, 2021, Cuixart was pardoned, yet activists in Catalonia urged…
-
Status
AcquittedJordi Sànchez
Activist, Literary writerSpainEurope and Central AsiaSànchez is a Catalan writer who advocates for the region’s independence. In October 2019, Sànchez, already detained, received a nine-year prison sentence and a ban on holding office for sedition. In early 2021, he was partially released from prison. On June 22, 2021, Sànchez was pardoned, yet activists in Catalonia…
-
Status
Continued HarassmentJorge Enrique Rodríguez Camejo
Journalist, Literary writer, PoetCubaAmericasA freelance journalist, poet, and cultural promoter, Rodríguez was arrested on June 28, 2020 for “contempt of authority” hours after posting on Facebook about the murder of Hansel Ernesto Hernández, a young Black man killed by the police. The next day, he was transferred to the Vivac Detention center until…
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.