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
ImprisonedMohamed Tadjadit
Activist, Online Commentator, PoetAlgeriaMiddle East and North AfricaKnown for his pro-democracy poetry, Tadjadit—often referred to as the “poet of the Hirak”—was first arrested in August 2020 for participating in a peaceful protest. He was released in January 2021 but was re-arrested shortly afterward and detained for over a year. Following a series of brief detentions throughout 2022…
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DetainedMohammad al-Bargash
Activist, Online CommentatorKuwaitMiddle East and North AfricaBidoon activist al-Bargash was arrested on September 3, 2023, after an indictment was filed against him over Twitter posts. Although acquitted in October 2023, he was later convicted by Kuwait’s Appeals Court on January 31, 2024, and sentenced to three years in prison on disinformation charges. He was acquitted again…
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ReleasedMohammad Badr
Journalist, Online CommentatorIsrael/Occupied Palestinian TerritoryMiddle East and North AfricaJournalist and online commentator Mohammad Badr was arrested from his home in the West Bank on April 4, 2023 and held in administrative detention for four months before being released. In October, Badr received a call from Israeli authorities, who later arrested his two brothers, father, and wife, demanding he…
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Displaced/In ExileMohammad Bamm
Poet, Singer/SongwriterIranMiddle East and North AfricaMohammad Bamm, whose writing focuses on workers’ rights, was detained on December 31, 2017 and held incommunicado, unable to access lawyers or his family. His charges include “causing harm to public order and security, participating in te leadership of illegal demonstrations and inciting people to take part in them, and…
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Continued HarassmentMohammad Fathi
Singer/SongwriterIranMiddle East and North AfricaPop singer Mohammad Fathi was summoned to the Evin courthouse on June 30, 2024, on charges of “propaganda against the regime,” stemming from his song Journey With You (Safar Ba To), written in memory of slain protesters. After being interrogated, he was released on bail. Journey With You is Fathi’s…
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Displaced/In ExileMohammad Rasoulof
Creative artist, DramatistIranMiddle East and North AfricaIn 2010, Rasoulof was arrested and received a six-year prison sentence for “propaganda.” It was later reduced to a year and he was released on bail, but prevented from travel. In July 2022, he was arrested for “inciting unrest.” He was released due to health issues in January 2023. In…
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ImprisonedMohammad Zare-Foumani
Journalist, Online CommentatorIranMiddle East and North AfricaA 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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Continued HarassmentMohammad Zubair
Journalist, Online CommentatorIndiaAsia-PacificA Muslim journalist who specializes in online fact-checking, 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 several times for his tweets, and was charged with “malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings.” On…
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ReleasedMohammed Abbou
Activist, JournalistTunisiaMiddle East and North AfricaIn 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
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.