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
Conditional ReleaseMahvash Sabet
Literary writer, PoetIranMiddle East and North AfricaA literary writer, poet, and member of the Baha’i community, Mahvash Sabet was arrested in July 2022. In November, she was sentenced to 10 years in prison on national security charges in a speedy trial. According to fellow prisoner Narges Mohammadi, Sabet has suffered torture and ill treatment in custody,…
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Displaced/In ExileMaidul Islam
Activist, Online Commentator, ScholarBangladeshAsia-PacificMaidul Islam was arrested on September 28, 2018 for online comments he made against Bangladesh’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina. He was detained for 40 days and suspended from his university position. Islam’s wife, Rozyna Begum, also reported various instances of harassment following Islam’s arrest. On August 23, 2023, following weeks…
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ReleasedMaina wa Kinyatti
Literary writer, ScholarKenyaSub-Saharan AfricaKinyatti, a writer and Marxist historian, was arrested in 1982 and sentenced to six and a half years in Kamiti prison for possessing seditious literature. He was detained and subjected to a sham trial, with the presiding judge linking Kinyatti to an attempted coup by Kenya’s air force despite no…
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ReleasedMajid Tavakoli
Activist, Journalist, Online CommentatorIranMiddle East and North AfricaActivist Tavakoli has been targeted by authorities since 2006. He was arrested at his home in September 2022 for his online commentary in support of the protests in Iran. He was released on bail in December 2022. In July 2023, he was sentenced to 6 years in prison for “threatening…
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Displaced/In ExileMaksim Znak
JournalistBelarusEurope and Central AsiaZnak, a prominent lawyer, poet, musician, and member of the Belarus Coordination Council formed to lead peaceful protests against President Alexander Lukashenko’s controversial re-election, was a close associate and legal counsel to Mariya Kalesnikava. He was arrested on September 9, 2020, after Kalesnikava refused to leave Belarus. Znak was convicted…
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Recorded HarassmentMalaka Dewapriya
Creative artist, DramatistSri LankaAsia-PacificPlaywright, visual artist, and filmmaker Dewapriya was reportedly interrogated by the Police Organized Crimes Divisions for four hours in October 2019 after a Buddhist monk accused him of distorting Buddhist terminology in his radio series “Kanata Parak” (Earful of Visuals). Dewapriya was recognised twice as the Best Radio Drama Scriptwriter…
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ReleasedMalcolm Bidali
Online CommentatorQatarMiddle East and North AfricaBidali is a Kenyan blogger and security guard who writes about migrant workers’ experiences in Qatar, where he lived for three years. On May 4, 2021, he was detained in solitary and investigated for spreading disinformation and publishing false news. After his release on bail after 28 days, Bidali left…
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MurderedMalleshappa Madivalappa Kalburgi
ScholarIndiaAsia-PacificIn August 2015, M. M. Kalburgi, an epigraphist and academic, was shot at close range on his doorstep and died shortly after. His work challenging the sanctity of religious idols reportedly upset Lingayat and Hindutva groups. While three individuals have been arrested in connection with the murder, it remains unclear…
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DeceasedMamadali Mahmudov
Activist, Literary writerUzbekistanEurope and Central AsiaMahmudov, a prominent Uzbek writer, was released in 2013 after serving 14 years in prison on charges of “threats” to the president and the constitutional order. A supporter of the opposition Erk party, Mahmudov was arrested after the Tashkent explosions in 1999. At age 79, he died on October 16,…
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.