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.
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Founder of Tibetan literary website Chomei, Kunchok Tsephel was arrested in 2009 and sentenced to 15 years in prison for disclosing state secrets; though, the precise reasons for the charge are unknown. He was released in March 2022 on conditions that restrict his movement and activities. While in prison, visits…
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Malayalam poet Sreekumar was targeted by right-wing protestors on his way home from making a speech in which he criticized Hindutva groups for their stance on the construction of a caste wall. The ruling BJP later called for him to be investigated for inciting violence.
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Literary writer and prominent pro-democracy activist “Ko Jimmy,” imprisoned multiple times previously, was charged over his Facebook posts in February 2021 and arrested in October; a military tribunal sentenced him to death on January 21, 2022 on treason and terrorism charges. He wrote a best selling book Making Friendship, and…
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Reuters reporter Kyaw Soe Oo was arrested in December 2017 with his colleague Wa Lone after they covered a massacre in Rakhine State. They received seven-year prison sentences in 2018 for allegedly obtaining state secrets, but were released via an amnesty in May 2019.
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A journalist and online commentator, Ghosheh also worked as a researcher at the Palestinian Museum in Birzeit. She was arrested at her home in August 2022 after sharing social media posts and detained for two weeks. She was released into house arrest on September 13, pending trial proceedings. Ghosheh was…
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An outspoken critic of both the Israeli government and Palestinian Authority, Khater was arrested by Israeli soldiers in July 2018 and sentenced to 13 months in prison for alleged links to Hamas. She was released in July 2019.
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In 2018, rapper Pupito en Sy was jailed for nine months after rapping in protest of Decree 349, a law restricting artistic expression in Cuba. He later was detained in 2019 for refusing to allow health inspectors in his house and retaliatory “resistance” and “spreading epidemics” charges. In November 2021,…
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Writers at Risk Database Key:
STATUS box that is red: Active case
STATUS box that is black: Inactive case
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.
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.