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
Continued HarassmentMaría Amparo Casar
Activist, Journalist, Literary writerMexicoAmericasOn April 30, 2024, María Amparo Casar published her book, Los Puntos Sobre las Íes: El Legado de un Gobierno que Minitió, Robó y Traicionó, in which she critiques the Obrador administration’s failures in transparency and governance. Then, in May 2024, President Obrador publicly discredited Casar in at least seven…
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ImprisonedMaría Cristina Garrido Rodríguez
Activist, PoetCubaAmericasGarrido Rodríguez was detained following her involvement in the 11J protests in Quivicán, Mayabeque along with her sister Angélica, and was forcibly disappeared for 18 days. In March 2022, she was sentenced to seven years imprisonment and was subjected to diverse forms of punishment, acts of torture, and prohibitions on…
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Displaced/In ExileMaría Guadalupe Lizarraga Hernández
Journalist, Literary writerMexicoAmericasIn February 2019, unknown individuals raided journalist and author Maria Guadalupe Lizarraga Hernández’s home, stealing a voice recorder with journalistic information. In April 2019, she was a victim of doxxing on Twitter and messages claiming she collaborated with organized crime groups. After repeated threats against her, Lizárraga Hernández moved to…
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Recorded ThreatMaria Josephina Vergina Laurio
Literary writer, Online CommentatorPhilippinesAsia-PacificProminent writer and anonymous blogger Laurio, known for her blog Pinoy Ako Blog, gained attention for criticizing government policies and corruption. Her identity was revealed in October 2017, after which she faced a barrage of threats, including threats of rape. Laurio reportedly moved to a temporary safe house after an…
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ImprisonedMaria Kolesnikova
Activist, Creative artistBelarusEurope and Central AsiaMusician and opposition figure Kolesnikova campaigned against President Lukashenka in 2020. In September 2020, she was kidnapped and detained for her activism. Her trial began in August 2021. She was sentenced to 11 years in prison in September for charges including terrorism and forming an extremist group. In November 2024,…
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ImprisonedMaria Ponomarenko
Journalist, Online CommentatorRussiaEurope and Central AsiaJournalist Ponomarenko was detained in April 2022 for publishing information on an airstrike in Ukraine. Granted house arrest in November, she returned to detention in January 2023 after an assault by her ex-husband. In February, she was sentenced to 6 years for spreading “false information.” She endured beatings in prison…
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AcquittedMaria Ressa
Journalist, Literary writerPhilippinesAsia-PacificRessa, an acclaimed journalist and CEO of digital news outlet Rappler, faces legal and political backlash for covering human rights abuses. She was convicted of tax fraud and cyber libel in June 2020 and further charged with two more cyber libel cases, two of which have been dropped. She appealed…
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Conditional ReleaseMarjan Davari
TranslatorIranMiddle East and North AfricaMarjan Davari was arrested on September 23, 2015 after translating a book about the Eckankar spiritual group, and faced multiple charges, including “corruption on earth.” Though she was sentenced to death on March 27, 2017, this was later reversed by the Supreme Court, and she now serves a 75 year…
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Displaced/In ExileMarko Vidojković
Journalist, Literary writerSerbiaEurope and Central AsiaAn award-winning author, columnist, and blogger, Vidojković received more than 50 death threats in 2021-2022 after he published his 2020 novel Djubre. Anonymous threats drew a comparison between him, his colleagues, and the murdered Charlie Hebdo journalists. Vidojković is best known for his novel Kandže. He left Serbia due to…
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.