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
DetainedOrkesh Abdurehim
Literary writer, Poet, ScholarChina/Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous RegionAsia-PacificOrkesh Abdurehim, a poet, author, and former teacher at Chapchal High School in Ili Prefecture, was arrested in September 2022 under unknown charges. Since then, he has been in detention, with no updates on his location or condition. Abdurehim is a father of two, and his family remains unaware of…
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ImprisonedOsama Khaled
Online Commentator, TranslatorSaudi ArabiaMiddle East and North AfricaOsama Khaled, a high-ranking Wikipedia volunteer administrator, had privileged access to edit protected pages. In 2020, he was arrested and sentenced to five years in prison, a sentence later increased to 32 years upon appeal. Reports suggest that Khaled and his colleague, Ziyad Al-Sofiani, edited pages of prominent dissidents and…
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Displaced/In ExileÓscar-René Vargas
Literary writer, ScholarNicaraguaAmericasFleeing into exile in 2018, the well-known sociologist and writer Vargas was arressted immediately upon his return to Nicaragua in November 2022. On December 13, 2022, Vargas was charged with “conspiracy to undermine national integrity.” After nearly three months of detention, Vargas was among 222 Nicaraguan political prisoners forcibly expelled,…
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DetainedOsman Zunun
Editor, PublisherChina/Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous RegionAsia-PacificZunun, a staff member at Uyghur-run Kashgar Publishing House, was detained in a sweep of arrests for his role in the publication of books deemed “problematic” by the Chinese government for their “improper” political content. He had been retired for ten years at the time of his arrest. Charges against…
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ReleasedOu Biaofeng
Activist, Journalist, Online CommentatorChinaAsia-PacificColumnist and online commentator Ou Biaofeng was detained in 2020 for his online commentary about “Ink Girl,” an artist who defaced an image of Xi Jinping. He was sentenced to 42 months in prison on charges of “inciting subversion of state power” due to his political opinion pieces and outspoken…
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Conditional ReleaseP. Varavara Rao
Activist, Literary writer, PoetIndiaAsia-PacificA renowned Telugu poet and leftist intellectual, Rao has been imprisoned by multiple governments for his viewpoints. In August 2018, he was arrested with other activists accused of inciting inter-caste violence at a protest. Due to ailments, the octogenarian poet has been released on an extended medical furlough since March…
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ReleasedPablo Rivadulla
Creative artist, Singer/SongwriterSpainEurope and Central AsiaAfter briefly evading authorities, Spanish rapper Rivadulla was arrested in February 2021 for insulting members of the royal family and “promoting terrorism” in his music and tweets. In March 2021, his sentence was extended by 16 months for refusing to pay the fines from his conviction; he also faces up…
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DetainedPaing Pyo Min
Creative artist, Online Commentator, PoetMyanmarAsia-PacificPaing Pyo Min, a member of the Peacock Generation satirical poetry troupe that specializes in the traditional art form of Thangyat, a type of slam poetry, was sentenced to four years in prison for mocking the military in a performance that was also streamed online. In a wave of pardons…
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ReleasedPaing Thet Kyaw
JournalistMyanmarAsia-PacificPaing Thet Kyaw was arrested with four other employees of the Unity newspaper after it published an exposé about an alleged secret chemical weapons factory. The “Unity Five” were sentenced to seven years in prison in 2014, but were released in 2016 by a presidential amnesty. Their case drew international…
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.