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
-
Status
Continued HarassmentNadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian
Literary writer, ScholarIsrael/Occupied Palestinian TerritoryMiddle East and North AfricaNadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, a feminist scholar and writer, has faced ongoing harassment over her academic work and political views. Suspended then reinstated from Hebrew University on March 14 and 27, 2024 respectively, Professor Shalhoub-Kervorkian was detained, subjected to degrading treatment, and interrogated for alleged “incitement of terrorism” on April 18. Despite…
-
Status
Conditional ReleaseNadhir Al-Majid
Journalist, Literary writer, ScholarSaudi ArabiaMiddle East and North AfricaNadhir Al-Majid was arrested and sentenced to seven years in prison in January 2017 in connection with an opinion piece he wrote in 2011 titled “I protest, therefore I am,” supporting the right to protest in the Shia city of Al-Qatif. Despite his attempt for appeal, Al-Majid’s prison sentence, which…
-
Status
ReleasedNaema Ahmed Ibrahim
Activist, PoetSomaliaSub-Saharan AfricaIbrahim, a poet, was arrested without charge in January 2018, and held incommunicado at the Central Police Station. In March, she was charged with “bringing the nation or the state into contempt” and sentenced to 3 years in prison. She was released via a pardon in May 2018.
-
Status
MurderedNafiseh Zamanzadeh
Online Commentator, PoetIranMiddle East and North AfricaNafiseh Zamanzadeh was an Iranian poet and online commentator. In 2022, she was briefly arrested during the Woman, Life, Freedom protests. She also posted poems she wrote online in pages honoring the Mahsa Amini uprising. On April 23, 2023, Zamanzadeh passed away after her house burned down through arson. Her…
-
Status
ImprisonedNagyz Muhammed
Literary writer, PoetChina/Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous RegionAsia-PacificMuhammed is a writer and poet who worked in Altay’s State Intangible Cultural Heritage Office and was a member of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Writers Association. He was arrested for gathering with friends and expressing his opinion on policies in Xinjiang in 2018. He was sentenced to life in prison…
-
Status
Conditional ReleaseNaif Al-Hindas
Online CommentatorSaudi ArabiaMiddle East and North AfricaSaudi Arabian writer and translator Naif Al-Hindas was arrested in April 2019, during a larger crackdown on dissent across the Kingdom commonly referred to as the “April Campaign.” He detained without charge. Al-Hindas translated and wrote about philosophy, feminism, film, and other cultural and political topics on various blogs. In…
-
Status
MurderedNaji Jerf
JournalistTürkiyeEurope and Central AsiaFilmmaker Naji Jerf, known for his courageous work documenting the harsh realities of the Syrian civil war, was killed by ISIS militants in Gaziantep, Türkiye, in December 2015. Jerf had produced an acclaimed documentary about Syrian activists who were murdered by the Islamic State. His work focused on exposing human…
-
Status
Displaced/In ExileNancy Alfaya
ActivistCubaAmericasAlfaya, a women’s rights activist, has faced harassment, including multiple arbitrary short detentions and an unofficial travel ban. In February 2020, she was classified as a high-interest person required to report monthly to police. Authorities also ignored IACHR precautionary measures protecting her rights and threatened her over activism, particularly around…
-
Status
Conditional ReleaseNanda Tin Htut
Creative artist, PoetMyanmarAsia-PacificPoet Nanda Tin Htut, also known as Han Lin, was arrested and detained on March 27, 2021, while participating in a peaceful protest led by poets on Pansodan Road in downtown Yangon. During these demonstrations, poets held public readings and sold poems and artwork to creatively oppose the February 1…
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.