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
Displaced/In ExileAhmed Abdel Halim
Journalist, Literary writer, Online CommentatorEgyptMiddle East and North AfricaAhmed Abdel Halim, an Egyptian writer and commentator, fled to Lebanon in 2021 after years of arrests, imprisonment, and harassment. His book on body and identity was banned in Egypt in 2023, and he was questioned by security services. Lebanon later revoked his student visa, prompting his move to France…
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DetainedAhmed Abdel Majeed Oraby
Online CommentatorEgyptMiddle East and North AfricaOn November 6, 2022, Ahmed Abdel Majeed Oraby was confronted by the Supreme Security Prosecution in Egypt with 15 posts from his personal Facebook, ultimately causing him to be detained on November 21, 2022 under various national security and disinformation charges. On January 22, 2024, a leaked letter revealed that…
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AcquittedAhmed Abdo Muhammad Maher
Literary writer, Online Commentator, ScholarEgyptMiddle East and North AfricaMaher is an Egyptian author, lawyer, and thinker charged with “contempt for Islam” for his book criticizing religious extremism. Arrested in October 2021, he was sentenced to five years in prison a month later in an Emergency State Security court. The charges stemmed from his outspoken criticism of religious radicalism…
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ReleasedAhmed Abu Damous
Online CommentatorIsrael/Occupied Palestinian TerritoryMiddle East and North AfricaDamous worked in political analysis and translation before founding Facebook and Telegram pages on which he actively published news updates and political commentary. In October 2023, he was arrested from his home in the West Bank following tweets he posted about the Israeli occupation’s targeting of Palestinian civilians. By the…
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ReleasedAhmed Ali Abdelkader
Journalist, Online CommentatorSaudi ArabiaMiddle East and North AfricaAhmed Ali Abdelkader is a Sudanese media personality and journalist. On April 19, 2021, he was arrested upon arriving at King Abdulaziz airport in Saudi Arabia and detained for 20 days. On June 8, 2021, Abdelkader was sentenced to 4 years in prison for charges including “speaking negatively about the…
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ConvictedAhmed Derakhshan
Activist, Literary writer, Online CommentatorIranMiddle East and North AfricaDerakhshan is a teacher and labor activist who has published collections of fiction. In September 2024, he was summoned to court and interrogated for “propaganda” and “spreading lies.” In December, he was sentenced to one year of discretionary imprisonment and given a travel ban. His teaching license was additionally suspended.…
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DetainedAhmed Douma
Activist, Online Commentator, PoetEgyptMiddle East and North AfricaAhmed Douma, an Egyptian activist, blogger, and poet, has faced repeated arrest, prosecution, and abuse since 2013 linked to his political expression and role in protests. Initially sentenced to life in 2015, his term was later reduced to 15 years. He reported torture in detention and continued writing despite censorship.…
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Displaced/In ExileAhmed Gamal Ziada
Journalist, Online CommentatorEgyptMiddle East and North AfricaAhmed Gamal Ziada lives in exile in Belgium following several arrests for his coverage of human rights abuse in Egypt. He was first detained in 2013 and acquitted in 2015. On February 13, 2019, Ziada was arrested again at Cairo Airport on charges of spreading false news before being released…
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Conditional ReleaseAhmed Hassan Al-Zoubi
Creative artist, JournalistJordanMiddle East and North AfricaA columnist, playwright, and political satirist, Al-Zoubi faced continued harassment for his work. In March 2022, his vehicle was intercepted on the way to the airport, and he was detained, with personal items confiscated, before being released. In March 2023, he was summoned to court after publishing a critical Facebook…
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.