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
Displaced/In ExileIdrak Mirzalizade
Creative artistRussiaEurope and Central AsiaBelarusian stand-up comedian Mirzalizade was attacked by two men in June 2021 for a joke that was alleged to be insulting to ethnic Russians. In August, he was sentenced to 10 days in prison. Following his imprisonment, Miralizade was banned from visiting Russia until 2035. He filed a lawsuit against…
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DetainedIdris Mohammed Ali
Singer/SongwriterEritreaSub-Saharan AfricaAli, a popular Tigrinya-language singer/songwriter, was arrested in November 2005 without charge. He was detained incommunicado, with no public explanation from the Eritrean government regarding his arrest. Over the years, rumors of his death have circulated widely on social media and various online platforms, though these reports have never been…
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DetainedIdris Nurillah
Poet, TranslatorChina/Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous RegionAsia-PacificIdris Nurillah is a Uyghur poet and small business owner who ran a wine shop. In the fall of 2017, he was detained, his shop was shut down, and his family and friends have received no news of him since. Nurillah had published his own poetry and completed the first…
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DetainedIdris Said
Journalist, Literary writerEritreaSub-Saharan AfricaSaid is an Eritrean writer and journalist who has been detained since October 2001. At the time of his arrest, he was a civil servant at the Ministry of Labor and Human Welfare and contributed to both the government-run Arabic daily Eritrea Al-Haditha and the privately owned weekly Tsigenay. He…
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Displaced/In ExileIhar Bancer
Activist, Creative artist, Singer/SongwriterBelarusEurope and Central AsiaBancer, a lyricist and frontman for band Mister X, was detained in October 2020 for his partially nude protest in front of police. He was charged with hooliganism, likely due to his artistic profile and activism. After serving a total of roughly a year in a correctional facility, he was…
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ReleasedIhar Melnikov
Literary writer, ScholarBelarusEurope and Central AsiaIhar Melnikov is a historian who was detained in January 2024 for an interview he had given to Euroradio, a dissident media outlet banned in the country, two years prior He was tried and in September 2024, was convicted and sentenced to 4 years in prison for “collaborating with an…
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Imprisonedİhsan Cibelik
Creative artist, Singer/SongwriterGermanyEurope and Central AsiaCibelik is a member of activist collective and band Grup Yorum. Since the band’s inception, its critical songs have angered the Turkish government and members have faced serious threats. Cibelik is on the wanted terrorists list of the Ministry of the Interior. On May 18, 2022, Cibelik was arrested in…
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Conditional ReleaseIhsane El Kadi
JournalistAlgeriaMiddle East and North AfricaEl Kadi is the director of the independent media outlets Radio M and Maghreb Emergent. In May 2022, he was convicted of “dissemination of false information to undermine national unity” among other charges. In December, El Kadi was arrested and Radio M and Maghreb Emergent were shut down. In April…
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Displaced/In ExileIleana Álvarez
Journalist, Literary writer, PoetCubaAmericasÁlvarez González, founder of Alas Tensas (Tense Wings), launched Cuba’s first feminist magazine in 2016. The independent outlet courageously centers on gender-based violence, femicide, LGBTQ+ rights, and Afro-Cuban women’s representation—topics typically marginalized in Cuban media. Her activism quickly drew state scrutiny and harassment, targeting not only her but also her…
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.