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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ImprisonedAhmad Ibrohim
Journalist, Literary writerTajikistanEurope and Central AsiaIn November 2021, writer, journalist, and editor-in-chief of Paik newspaper Ahmad Ibrohim wrote a letter to the Prosecutor General about pressure on the the Paik staff by Tajikistani authorities. On August 12, 2024, he was arrested on accusations of bribing a public servant. With his arrest, Paik was also made…
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ReleasedAhmad Qatamesh
Activist, Literary writer, ScholarIsrael/Occupied Palestinian TerritoryMiddle East and North AfricaSeptugenarian Palestinian literary writer and scholar Ahmad Qatamesh has been in and out of prison for a decade for his dissident political opinions and his membership in political organizations considered “unlawful” by the Israeli government. In October 2021 he was once again arrested for a lecture given at Birzeit University.…
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Displaced/In ExileAhmad Waqass Goraya
Online CommentatorPakistanAsia-PacificGoraya disappeared in early 2020 after publishing a Facebook page critical of the government. Freed several weeks later, he moved to the Netherlands, claiming the Pakistani state tortured him “beyond limits.” In January 2022, an individual from London was found guilty of conspiracy to kill Goraya upon instruction by Pakistani-based…
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DetainedAhmed Abdel Majeed Oraby
Online CommentatorEgyptMiddle East and North AfricaOn November 6, 2022, Ahmed Abdel Majeed Oraby was confronted by the Supreme Security Prosecution in Egypt with 15 posts from his personal Facebook, ultimately causing him to be detained on November 21, 2022 under various national security and disinformation charges. On January 22, 2024, a leaked letter revealed that…
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AcquittedAhmed Abdo Muhammad Maher
Literary writer, Online Commentator, ScholarEgyptMiddle East and North AfricaMaher is an Egyptian author, lawyer, and thinker charged with “contempt for Islam” for his book criticizing religious extremism. Arrested in October 2021, he was sentenced to five years in prison a month later in an Emergency State Security court. The charges stemmed from his outspoken criticism of religious radicalism…
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ReleasedAhmed Abu Damous
Online CommentatorIsrael/Occupied Palestinian TerritoryMiddle East and North AfricaDamous worked in political analysis and translation before founding Facebook and Telegram pages on which he actively published news updates and political commentary. In October 2023, he was arrested from his home in the West Bank following tweets he posted about the Israeli occupation’s targeting of Palestinian civilians. By the…
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ImprisonedAhmed Ali Abdelkader
Journalist, Online CommentatorSaudi ArabiaMiddle East and North AfricaAhmed Ali Abdelkader is a Sudanese media personality and journalist. On April 19, 2021, he was arrested upon arriving at King Abdulaziz airport in Saudi Arabia and detained for 20 days. On June 8, 2021, Abdelkader was sentenced to 4 years in prison for charges including “speaking negatively about the…
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ReleasedAhmed Douma
Activist, Online Commentator, PoetEgyptMiddle East and North AfricaA poet, activist, and blogger, Douma was first arrested in 2013 due to his prominent role in the 2011 Egyptian revolution. He wrote his poetry collection Your Voice is Heard which was published in 2012. He continued to write in prison despite restrictions. He was sentenced to a 15-year prison…
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Displaced/In ExileAhmed Gamal Ziada
Journalist, Online CommentatorEgyptMiddle East and North AfricaAhmed Gamal Ziada lives in exile in Belgium following several arrests for his coverage of human rights abuse in Egypt. He was first detained in 2013 and acquitted in 2015. On February 13, 2019, Ziada was arrested again at Cairo Airport on charges of spreading false news before being released…
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.