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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Labter, a journalist and publisher whose writing gained popularity during the Hirak protests, was arrested in his home on November 20, 2022. On November 28, he was released from custody. No official reasons were ever stated for his arrest.
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In July 2018, authorities arrested independent blogger Le Anh Hung and charged him with “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon state interests.” In October, he went on hunger strike and was involuntarily transferred to a psychiatric institution. In May 2022, in a secret trial, he was sentenced to 5 years…
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Quang is a lawyer and computer teacher who has published several essays critical of the government. He was arrested in February 2002 after authorities monitored his computer use at an internet café and was sentenced to 4 years in prison. He was released in June 2004.
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Le Tuan has written critically of government policies and in support of democracy. He was arrested in June 2020 under Article 117, related to propaganda against the state, for his writings. He was convicted and sentenced to 11 years in prison in January 2021. He is a member of the…
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An online commentator, Le Manh Ha was arrested in January 2022 when police raided his house and seized 20 books, two laptop computers, and a cellphone. On October 25, 2022 he was sentenced to 8 years in prison to be followed by 5 years of house arrest for violating Article…
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A filmmaker and poet, Manimekalai received multiple death and rape threats after sharing a poster of her documentary film Kaali on July 2, 2022. It showed the Hindu goddess Kali smoking and holding a pride flag. In February 2023, India’s Supreme Court granted her protection against multiple legal complaints filed…
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A columnist and activist, Hian was ordered by the court to pay S$133k (US$98K) in damages for sharing a link on his Facebook page to an article alleging that the prime minister was a target of a corruption investigation.
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González, co-founder of the Movement for Democracy, was arrested in a 2003 roundup of dissidents known as the Black Spring and sentenced to 20 years in prison. He was released in 2010 after multilateral talks in which Cuba agreed to release those jailed in the Black Spring.
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.