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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Al-Atrash, a host on Radio Alam and co-founder of Space Media, which covers Palestinian issues, also writes commentary online. He was arrested at his home in the West Bank on November 8. At a hearing a few weeks later, Israeli prosecutors charged Al-Atrash with incitement based on posts from his…
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In 2014, Mkhaïtr was sentenced to death for writing an article, in which he argued that Muaritania’s caste system was not justified by the teachings of the prophet Mohammed. He was unexpectedly released into exile in France in 2019.
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Moussa, a columnist for multiple outlets who has criticized President el-Sisi in his work, was arrested at his home in Alexandria and taken to an undisclosed location on November 7, 2022. He remained in pretrial detention, which was extended despite his heart condition. On June 26, 2023, Moussa was released.
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Tajadit is affectionately called the “poet of the Hirak” for his poetry that comments on politics in Algeria. He was arrested in August 2020 for his involvement in a peaceful protest. He was released with six months served in January 2021. On April 4, 2021, he was re-arrested and detained…
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Bamm, whose writing focuses on workers’ rights, was detained in December 2017 and held incommunicado, unable to access lawyers or his family, and charged with anti-state propaganda. In 2018, he was released and he left Iran for a residency program in exile in 2019.
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In 2010, Rasoulof was arrested alongside fellow filmmaker Jafar Panahi, and received a six-year prison sentence for “propaganda”; it was later reduced to one year and he was released on bail, but prevented from travel. In July 2022, Rasoulof was arrested for “inciting unrest.” On January 7, 2023, he was…
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A columnist, political figure, and online commentator, Zare-Foumani is a reformist who was first arrested in May 2022 and released on bail after 52 days of detention. He was later summoned to the intelligence ministry on charges of inciting the protests in Iran. He was arrested on October 9, 2022…
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A Muslim journalist, Zubair was informed by Twitter in June 2022 that the Indian government had requested they suspend his account. In the following weeks, he was arrested and sentenced several times for his tweets, including a 2018 post referring to Hanuman, and was charged with “malicious acts intended to…
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In March 2005, writer, lawyer, and human rights activist Abbou was arrested for an article published nine months earlier denouncing torture in Tunisia. He was released in July 2007, but in October of that year Tunisian authorities blocked him from traveling to Cairo.
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.