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
Continued HarassmentJorge Fernandez Era
Journalist, Literary writer, Online CommentatorCubaAmericasIn an April 18, 2024 Facebook post, Jorge Fernández Era reported that several officers had been stationed outside his residence for over a month. On May 19, while attempting to take out the trash, officers demanded his ID and tried to detain him without any judicial order. On August 18,…
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Displaced/In ExileJorge Olivera Castillo
Journalist, Literary writerCubaAmericasJournalist Castillo was sentenced to 18 years in prison in 2003, and wrote poetry and fiction while in prison. He was released after 18 months due to health. After time abroad, he returned to harassment and arbitrary arrest in Cuba. In January 2021, he left Cuba in exile. Since then,…
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Recorded HarassmentJorge Ramos
Journalist, Literary writerVenezuelaAmericasJournalist and author Ramos was arrested with his team after conducting an abruptly suspended interview with President Maduro of Venezuela in February 2019. They were detained by government officials, who took their cameras and phones to keep the interview from being aired. Ramos later recovered the footage through confidential sources.…
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On TrialJose Bello
Activist, Poet, ScholarUnited States of AmericaAmericasIn May 2019, Bello recited his poem “Dear America,” inspired by his first-hand experience in Mesa Verde detention facility, at a local forum. Less than 36 hours later, he was re-arrested in apparent retaliation for his poem by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for a purported violation of his bond.…
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ReleasedJosé Luis García Paneque
Journalist, ScholarCubaAmericasDr. García Paneque was arrested in a 2003 roundup of dissidents known as the Black Spring and sentenced to 24 years in prison. He was released in 2010 after multilateral talks in which Cuba agreed to release a group of Black Spring dissidents.
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Displaced/In ExileJosé Luis Tan Estrada
Journalist, Online Commentator, ScholarCubaAmericasJosé Luis Tan Estrada is a blogger, journalist, and former professor. He was fired from his university position in 2023 for his criticisms of the Cuban government. In April 2024, he received police summons for “subversive activity” due to his social media posts and was interrogated. Later that month, he…
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Recorded HarassmentJosé Viñuela
Journalist, Literary writerArgentinaAmericasAn author and journalist, Viñuela received death threats from an unknown telephone number on September 8, 2022. Viñuela has written extensively about the 2023 Argentine presidential election, Bolsonaro’s re-election in Brazil, the return of Donald Trump, and the ultraconservative Vox party in Spain. He is also the author of the…
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ConvictedJosep Miquel Arenas Beltrán
Creative artist, Singer/SongwriterSpainEurope and Central AsiaIn 2017, musician Josep Miquel Arenas Beltrán, also known as “Valtònyc,” was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months in prison for insulting the crown, “glorification of terrorism,” and “threats,” for a song that targeted the nationalist group Circulo Balear. In 2018, he fled to Belgium, and while Spain demanded…
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ImprisonedJoshua Wong
Activist, Online CommentatorChina/Hong KongAsia-PacificWong, a prominent Hong Kong democracy activist, was imprisoned for four months in 2017 for unlawful assembly linked to the 2014 Occupy Central protests. After his release, Wong continued to be targeted by police. Between 2020 and 2022, he served prison time for protests against Hong Kong’s extradition law. In…
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.