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
ReleasedMohammed Al-Ajami
PoetQatarMiddle East and North AfricaPoet Al-Ajami was convicted in November 2012 for “inciting the overthrow of the ruling regime” and “criticizing the Emir” in two of his poems. He was sentenced to life in prison, later reduced to 15 years. In 2016, he received a royal pardon and was released.
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ImprisonedMohammed Al-Roken
Activist, Literary writer, ScholarUnited Arab EmiratesMiddle East and North AfricaAl-Roken, a writer, lawyer, and human rights advocate who has represented numerous other activists, was tried along with 93 other defendants for anti-state activity and sentenced to ten years in prison in 2013 in an unfair trial that failed to meet international standards. Al-Roken has not been released despite serving…
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Conditional ReleaseMohammed Al-Sadiq
Journalist, Literary writer, Online CommentatorSaudi ArabiaMiddle East and North AfricaOne of several writers arrested in April 2019 during what is commonly referred to as the “April Campaigns” in Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Al-Sadiq previously wrote about sectarianism, conflict, and economic inequality in the region. He was reportedly being hel in Al-Ha’i Prison tunil early 2021, when Al-Sadiq was conditionally released…
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ReleasedMohammed Benchicou
JournalistAlgeriaMiddle East and North AfricaFormer director of daily newspaper Le Matin, Benchicou was arrested in 2003 on pretense of a currency violation. Though released in 2006, he was forced to shutter his newspaper and faced censorship of his novel writing years following his release. In 2011, he published another book in France where currently…
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Displaced/In ExileMohammed El-Kurd
Literary writer, Online Commentator, PoetIsrael/Occupied Palestinian TerritoryMiddle East and North AfricaEl-Kurd is an award-winning poet, journalist, and social media activist from East Jerusalem. Currently the Palestine correspondent for The Nation, El-Kurd’s debut poetry collection Rifqa focuses on the Palestinian struggle for freedom and his grandmother’s exile during the Nakba. Following its publication in October 2021, El-Kurd was the subject of…
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Recorded HarassmentMohammed Hanif
Journalist, Literary writerPakistanAsia-PacificIn December 2019, the son of former president General Zia ul Haq filed a defamation notice against writer Hanif, citing Hanif’s satirical novel, A Case of Exploding Mangoes. The book’s publisher and translator were both also included in the suit. In January 2020, when the book was translated into Urdu,…
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Displaced/In ExileMohammed Rashed Al-Ajmi
Online CommentatorKuwaitMiddle East and North AfricaMohammed Rashed Al-Ajmi, a Kuwaiti blogger and online activist, has been the victim of repeated physical attacks. The first attack occurred in Kuwait in October 2022 before he was forced out of the country. He was then attacked in Egypt on June 11, 2023, before traveling to Turkey to apply…
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Continued HarassmentMohammed Sabaaneh
Creative artist, Literary writer, Online CommentatorIsrael/Occupied Palestinian TerritoryMiddle East and North AfricaSabaaneh, a Palestinian cartoonist, has been repeatedly harassed by both Palestinian (PA) and Israeli authorities. He has been detained multiple times by Israeli border forces at Allenby Bridge without any explanation. In January 2023, as instigated by the PA, he was dismissed from his job at Al-Hayat Al-Jadida newspaper for…
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ImprisonedMohammed Saud Al-Bishr
Editor, Journalist, Literary writer, Online Commentator, ScholarSaudi ArabiaMiddle East and North AfricaAl-Bishr, a professor and commentator on politics and religion, was arrested in October 2017. Human rights groups reported that his arrest stemmed from his comments criticizing excessive media censorship. Despite not being formally charged, he was sentenced to four years in prison on January 8, 2021. Accusations against him are…
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.