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
ImprisonedJunaid Hafeez
Poet, ScholarPakistanAsia-PacificHafeez, a liberal academic, was arrested for blasphemy in 2013 and has been in solitary confinement since 2014. An Islamist group lodged the accusation against him to prevent his promotion to a permanent faculty position. He was sentenced to death in 2019. On March 19, 2025, the Lahore High Court…
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DetainedJunaidullo Khodyorov
Activist, Journalist, Online CommentatorRussiaEurope and Central AsiaIn August 2018, Russia-based Tajik blogger Khodyorov was sentenced to 5 years in prison in Tajikistan for “supporting terrorism” in relation to his writing about a trip to the country. He was released in October 2019. He returned to Russia but was rearrested there in June 2023 at Tajik authorities’…
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Displaced/In ExileJung Chang
Literary writerChina/MacauAsia-PacificJung Chang and he husband co-wrote a critical biography of Mao. The best-selling family autobography was later banned in China. In 2018, Jung Chang was invited to a literary festival in Macau. Her invitation was revoked in March 2018 after authorities said that her appearance there would be “untimely.” As…
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ConvictedKaan Göktas
Journalist, Literary writer, Online CommentatorTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaGoktas is journalist and online commentator who writes on cybersecurity. He was sentenced to two years in prison in 2021 for sharing a poem by Ottoman poet Sunbulzade Vehi Efendi. He was charged with insulting the president. He was physically attacked in 2022 for an article due to be published…
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Displaced/In ExileKakwenza Rukirabashaija
Literary writerUgandaSub-Saharan AfricaIn December 2021, novelist Rukirabashaija was detained for tweets criticizing President Museveni and his son. He was released in January 2022. On January 11, 2022, Rukirabashaija was secretly charged on two counts of “offensive communication,” but was released on bail 15 days later. While Rukirabashaija fled Uganda to seek medical…
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Recorded HarassmentKamalsy Najmal
Activist, Literary writerIndiaAsia-PacificMalayalam writer and theater activist Najmal was arrested for allegedly insulting the Indian national anthem in a Malayalam-language Facebook post in December 2016. He was released after three days, but has since been the target of police harassment and anonymous threats.
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Displaced/In ExileKameel Ahmady
Journalist, Literary writer, ScholarIranMiddle East and North AfricaKameel Ahmady, known for writing about women’s rights issues such as female genital mutilation and child marriage in Iran, was arrested on August 11, 2019 for unknown charges. He was arbitrarily detained for 100 days, then released on a 500 million toman bail. On December 13, 2020, Ahmady was sentenced…
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Conditional ReleaseKamnyshay Mamyrkulova
Activist, Journalist, Online CommentatorKyrgyzstanEurope and Central AsiaKamnyshay Mamyrkulova, a freelance journalist, columnist, online commentator, and activist, was detained in March 2025 in connection with Facebook posts related to the Kyrgyz–Tajik border deal. She was accused of calling for riots, inciting ethnic hatred, and spreading false information. She remained in pretrial detention in May 2025 after her…
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MurderedKamol Duangphasuk
PoetThailandAsia-PacificIn April 2014, the poet “Kunthee” was shot by assailants who approached his car in Northern Bangkok, then escaped by motorcycle. He died in the hospital as a result of his injuries. The motive for his murder is unknown, but may be linked to his activism about increased violence 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.