Writers At Risk
PEN’s bedrock work is long-term advocacy on behalf of individual writers who are being persecuted because of their work. This page features our highest priority cases. With the help of our members and supporters, we are carrying out campaigns to win their release and ensure they are safe and can write and publish freely.
Take a moment to share information about these writers and take action on their behalf. This is only a small sampling of writers under threat around the world.
Roman Sushchenko | Status: Released | Russia
Roman Sushchenko, a Ukrainian journalist, was detained in Moscow on September 30, 2016, on charges of espionage, and has since been detained in Lefortovo Prison. Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB)… More
Nazlı Ilıcak | Status: Conditional Release | Turkey
Nazli Ilicak, a 72-year-old veteran journalist, former member of parliament, and avid supporter of democracy, was arrested as part of a crackdown following an attempted coup in July 2016.… More
Liu Jingsheng | Status: Released | China
Liu Jingsheng is a peaceful opposition activist and a former co-editor of Tansuo (Explorations), a journal he founded in the late 1970s along with Wei Jingsheng. More
Shiva Nazar Ahari | Status: Released | Iran
Shiva Nazar Ahari is an Iranian journalist, blogger, and human rights activist and former political prisoner. More
Tashi Wangchuk | Status: Imprisoned | China
Tashi Wangchuk, a Tibetan language activist and entrepreneur, was sentenced to five years in prison for “inciting separatism” on May 22, 2018. These charges were a consequence of his… More
Mahmoud Abou Zeid (Shawkan) | Status: Conditional Release | Egypt
Shawkan is a journalist and photographer who often depicts daily cultural life and produces street portraits. He is a contributor to publications such as Time Magazine, Die Zeit, BILD,… More
Zehra Doğan | Status: Released | Turkey
Zehra Doğan, a Turkish journalist and artist, was sentenced on March 24, 2017 to two years and ten months in prison for creating a painting of a Turkish city… More
Akram Aylisli | Status: On Trial | Azerbaijan
Since the publication of his novella, Stone Dreams, in 2012, writer Akram Aylisli has been subject to an officially-sanctioned harassment campaign. On March 30, 2016, on More
Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh (Mother Mushroom) | Status: In Exile | Vietnam
Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, better known as “Mother Mushroom,” is a prominent independent blogger, whose blog addresses social concerns in Vietnam. More
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PEN America On 
Content moderation determines who gets to say what on social media. Things are changing FAST under COVID-19. PEN America's @mattbailey0 breaks it down here: https://bit.ly/3gHwDy9.
The PEN Translation Committee has curated a list of titles that speak to our current moment, a worldwide reckoning with injustice. The books selected are from authors around the globe, on topics like existential anxiety, love, activism, and trauma. https://bit.ly/324j9Zj