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
ReleasedMalcolm Bidali
Online CommentatorQatarMiddle East and North AfricaBidali is a Kenyan blogger and security guard who writes about migrant workers’ experiences in Qatar, where he lived for three years. On May 4, 2021, he was detained in solitary and investigated for spreading disinformation and publishing false news. After his release on bail after 28 days, Bidali left…
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MurderedMalleshappa Madivalappa Kalburgi
ScholarIndiaAsia-PacificIn August 2015, M. M. Kalburgi, an epigraphist and academic, was shot at close range on his doorstep and died shortly after. His work challenging the sanctity of religious idols reportedly upset Lingayat and Hindutva groups. While three individuals have been arrested in connection with the murder, it remains unclear…
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DeceasedMamadali Mahmudov
Activist, Literary writerUzbekistanEurope and Central AsiaMahmudov was released in 2013 after serving 14 years in prison on charges of “threats” to the president and the constitutional order. A supporter of the opposition Erk party, Mahmudov was arrested after the Tashkent explosions in 1999. At age 79, he died on October 16, 2020. After his death,…
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ImprisonedManahel Al-Otaibi
Online CommentatorSaudi ArabiaMiddle East and North AfricaIn November 2022, influencer Manahel al-Otaibi was arrested. In January 2024, she was sentenced to 11 years in prison on multiple charges, including calling on social media for an end to the Saudi male guardianship system, wearing “indecent clothes,” using digital technology “in terrorist crimes,” and broadcasting “false or malicious…
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Displaced/In ExileMansour Al-Muhareb
Online CommentatorKuwaitMiddle East and North AfricaActivist Mansoor Al-Muhareb is currently living in exile in the United Kingdom. On October 27, 2024, the Kuwaiti Criminal Court sentenced him, in absentia, to two years in prison with hard labor. According to the court, Al-Muhareb allegedly challenged the powers of the Emir of Kuwait and criticized the dissolution…
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Conditional ReleaseMansoureh Mousavi
Literary writer, Scholar, TranslatorIranMiddle East and North AfricaMousavi, a sociologist, literary writer, and translator, was arrested at her home in Mashhad on September 20, 2022, on unknown charges. Authorities raided her home and confiscated her laptop and several texts. She is among the translators of 50 Million Rising: The New Generation of Working Women Transforming the Islamic…
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Conditional ReleaseMarco Antonio Pintueles Marrero
Singer/SongwriterCubaAmericasAfter being sentenced to seven years in prison in February 2022, for his participation in peaceful protests on July 11, 2021, Marco Antonio Pintueles Marrero was released in Aprill 2022. On June 9, 2022, he was informed that he would instead serve five years of correctional labor at the La…
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MurderedMarcos Hernández Bautista
JournalistMexicoAmericasHernández, a reporter known for covering political corruption and the influence of local strongmen, was shot in Oaxaca in January 2016 while getting into his car. In February 2023, the alleged gunman was sentenced to 30 years in prison. However, authorities believe that the instigator, who may have orchestrated the…
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ReleasedMarghulan Boranbai
Online CommentatorKazakhstanEurope and Central AsiaBoranbai, an online commentator critical of Russia, was arrested on January 28, 2020, and charged with “inciting ethnic hatred” and “incitement to usurp power by force” over his posts on social media. On March 14, 2022, he was found guilty and sentenced to five years in prison. In 2023, reports…
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.