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.
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A former sports journalist in Nicaragua, Miguel Mendoza Urbina began publishing his dissident political opinions on Twitter and Facebook where he has a significant following. On June 21, 2021, Urbina was detained on vague charges with no evidence. On February 16, 2022, he was sentenced to nine years in prison,…
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Dziadok is a writer and blogger, analyzing Belarusian politics via his Telegram channel. On November 12, 2020, he was arrested on a “public order offense case.” His house was searched, and he was beaten severely. He was later charged with anti-state crimes for his writings. In November 2021, he was…
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In September 2020, poet and beekeeper Papieka participated in a “karahod,” a form of cultural protest used to show resistance to President Lukashenka’s rule. In November, he was detained for three days. He was sentenced in June 2021 to two years in a “khimiya,” where he was permitted to work…
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Jalili is an Iranian rapper who was arrested in November 2023. Before his arrest, he had published and written a song online calling for the release of Azeri citizens. He was released on bail in January 2024 but sentenced in February to 8 months in prison for “propaganda against the…
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Jannat is a member of the Iranian Writers Association, a translator, and a poet. He was detained in a home raid in July 2020, in which authorities reportedly confiscated his books, laptop, and other personal belongings. He was released two weeks later on bail, but faces charges of “propaganda against…
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Documentary filmmaker Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi, formerly detained for nearly a year for criticizing the military in his films and social media posts, was released in February 2020. He was one of the first creative artists to be detained on the first night of the February 1, 2021 military-led…
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A rapper and songwriter, Fyodorov wrote a song that was found to be “extremist” by a Moscow Court. He was fined 45k rubles on December 12, 2022 for discrediting the army. He was fined again 70k rubles on January 11, 2023 for “promoting separatism” in his song “Oida.”
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In November 2023, freelance journalist and online writer Al-Azzeh was arrested in East Jerusalem for incitement and identifying with a terrorist organization for four Facebook posts she published following the October 7 attack. Four days later, NBC News announced that Al-Azzeh was no longer on contract with them. She was…
Writers at Risk Database Key:
STATUS box that is red: Active case
STATUS box that is black: Inactive case
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.
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.