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
ConvictedKamran Takuk
PoetIranMiddle East and North AfricaOn January 11, 2022, Kurdish poet Kamran Takuk was arrested, taken to the Nabi Akram Corps detention center, and interrogated for six days before being released. He was convicted on February 21, 2022, and sentenced to 28 months in prison for “propaganda against the regime” and “insulting the leadership.” As…
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ReleasedKaram Saber
Activist, Literary writerEgyptMiddle East and North AfricaIn June 2013, author and land rights activist Saber was sentenced to 5 years in prison for “contempt of religion” in connection with his 2010 collection of short stories, “Where Is God?”, which tells the stories of poor farmers in Egypt. He was released in 2018.
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Conditional ReleaseKaramollah Soleimani
Creative artist, Literary writer, Online Commentator, PoetIranMiddle East and North AfricaSoleimani is a playwright, literary writer, and theater director. He was arrested on September 21, 2022 and taken to an unknown location for his support of the protests. He was released on bail on December 4, 2022. Authorities reportedly attempted to pressure him into publicly renouncing his support of the…
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ReleasedKareem Amer
Online CommentatorEgyptMiddle East and North AfricaKnown for the secular views expressed on his blog, Amer was sentenced to four years in prison for disparaging Islam and defaming the president in 2007. Upon his scheduled release in 2010, he was reportedly beaten, sent to another prison, and held illegally for ten days. He is exiled in…
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Recorded HarassmentKarishma Hazarika
Poet, ScholarIndiaAsia-PacificHazarika is one of the “Miya” (Bengali-language Muslim) poets charged in July 2019 after the online publication of a poem by Hafiz Ahmed that authorities claimed promoted sectarian enmity in the state of Assam. On July 17, 2019, all ten poets were granted anticipatory bail.
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Displaced/In ExileKaterina Silvanova
Literary writerRussiaEurope and Central AsiaWriter Katerina Silvanova co-authored the historical young adult novel Summer in the Red Scarf with Elena Malisova. The book tells the story of a romance between two boys at a Soviet summer camp. It was published in 2021 by Popcorn Books. The book caused controversy in Russia due to its…
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Displaced/In ExileKatsiaryna Andreyeva
Journalist, Literary writerBelarusEurope and Central AsiaReporter and writer Andreyeva was detained on November 15, 2020 for “organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order,” after reporting on a protest in Minsk. On February 18, 2021, she was sentenced to two years in prison, which was later reduced by two and a half months. On…
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ReleasedKay Khine Tun
Creative artist, Online Commentator, PoetMyanmarAsia-PacificKay Khine Tun, a member of the Peacock Generation satirical poetry troupe that specializes in the traditional art form of Thangyat, a type of slam poetry, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison with hard labor in November 2019 for mocking the military in a performance that…
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Recorded HarassmentKazi Sharowar Hussain
Poet, ScholarIndiaAsia-PacificKazi Neel is one of the “Miya” (Bengali-language Muslim) poets charged in July 2019 after the online publication of a poem by Hafiz Ahmed that authorities claimed promoted sectarian enmity in the state of Assam. On July 17, 2019, all ten poets were granted anticipatory bail.
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.