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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Displaced/In ExileMaxim Pokrovsky
Singer/SongwriterRussiaEurope and Central AsiaMaxim Pokrovsky, lead singer of the Russian rock group Nogu Svelo, is known for releasing politically charged protest songs condemning the war in Ukraine. One of his songs prompted a police complaint and investigation under a Russian penal code statute for “discrediting the Russian army.” He now lives in exile…
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ImprisonedMaykel Castillo Pérez
Creative artist, Singer/SongwriterCubaAmericasPérez has faced harassment for his activism, including police beatings and repeated arbitrary detentions since 2018. He was arrested in May 2021 for co-writing “Patria y Vida,” a Grammy-winning song denouncing state repression, and has been held in solitary confinement despite an ailment afflicting lymphatic system. On June 24, 2022,…
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DisappearedMazen Latif
Activist, Literary writer, PublisherIraqMiddle East and North AfricaLatif is a literary writer and owner of publishing house Mesopotamia. He is also an activist who was heavily involved in the Baghdad protest movement, and an editor-in-chief of a cultural magazine that covers Iraqi culture and heritage. In January 2020, he was kidnapped from the center of Baghdad in…
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Displaced/In ExileMbizo Chirasha
Literary writer, PoetZimbabweSub-Saharan AfricaWriter and human rights activist Chirasha has faced multiple attacks, including kidnapping attempts, electrocution, and threats on his life for his work exposing corruption within the Zimbabwean government. He noted that specifically after publishing his poetry collection titled A Letter to the President, Chirasha noticed an increase in threats and…
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Recorded HarassmentMeckey Almostageer
Journalist, PoetLibyaMiddle East and North AfricaPoet and medical doctor Almostageer has been subject to harassment, detention, and torture by both state and non-state actors for contributing to a literary collection deemed against “public morality.” On several occasions, he has been attacked in public and detained.
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DetainedMedhanie Haile
JournalistEritreaSub-Saharan AfricaHaile is co-founder of the newspaper Keste Debena and an outspoken critic of the government. He has been detained incommunicado since 2001 as part of the government’s sweeping crackdown on print media following the September 11 attacks. Haile has reportedly suffered torture and harsh conditions, drawing serious concern for his…
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Recorded HarassmentMedhat Safwat
Activist, Journalist, Literary writer, ScholarEgyptMiddle East and North AfricaSawfat, who has written critically about fundamentalist groups’ strict interpretation of Islam, has faced verbal abuse and intimidation after each piece he has written. He was also formally admonished for ‘distorting the picture of Egypt’ after leading a seminar overseas. In 2022, he published a new book and presented his…
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ImprisonedMehdi Bahman
Creative artist, Literary writerIranMiddle East and North AfricaBahman, a literary writer and creative artist, is known for his illustrated copies of the Torah, Bible, and Psalms. He was detained on October 13, 2022, after giving an interview critical of the Iranian government to an Israeli TV channel. In December 2022, he was sentenced to death for espionage.…
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Conditional ReleaseMehdi Rajabian
Creative artist, Singer/SongwriterIranMiddle East and North AfricaMusician Mehdi Rajabian was imprisoned in 2016 after co-founding a music sharing website with his brother. They were released in 2017, but Rajabian was re-arrested on August 11, 2020, after recieving a summons the day before, for publishing songs on women’s song and dance. He was released on bail the…
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.