In her powerful address at our 90th PEN International Congress Opening Ceremony, Palestinian writer
#AdaniaShibli
questions how silence has become a means of survival for Palestinians and honours those living in a world at war, drawing upon the words of poet Antonio Gamoneda.
As the trial of writers and Catalan civil society leaders
@jordialapreso
and
@jcuixart
comes to an end, PEN International again calls on the Spanish authorities to release them immediately and to drop the charges of rebellion and sedition against them.
We strongly condemn
@pritipatel
’s decision to approve the extradition of
@wikileaks
publisher Julian
#Assange
to the US where he faces up to 175 years in prison. Disclosing information of public interest is not a crime
#FreeAssangeNOW
:
'Either we all live in a decent world, or nobody does.'
George Orwell, born
#OnThisDay
in 1903. This year also marks the 70th anniversary of the publication of 1984.
Today is first hearing in the libel lawsuit against investigative journalist
@carolecadwalla
. PEN stands in solidarity with Carole and all other journalists who face defamation suits due to their journalistic work.
“PEN International utterly condemns the brutal attack on Salman Rushdie. Salman is an esteemed and celebrated author and beloved member of the PEN community" - Burhan Sonmez, PEN International President. Read the statement:
#SalmanRushdie
Today is
#JulianAssange
’s birthday, the first he can celebrate with his loved ones, as a free man, in years. We rejoice at his release and urge that no other journalist or publisher exposing information in the public interest go through what he endured.
The Hong Kong Police Force has committed pervasive human rights violations as a state actor in responding to the protests and is not in a position to investigate itself and to remedy the widespread unlawful suppression of protests -
@amnestyusa
Julian Assange turns 50 today. We stand with him on his birthday and urgently call for his immediately release and for the extradition request by the US government to be withdrawn
#FreeAssange
'While both Hong Kong and Taiwan are bastions of free press, Beijing has increasingly put them under strain as it attempts to influence editorial content and spread propaganda,' says a
@pressfreedom
report on how China exports censorship:
We condemn the conviction today of award-winning writer Tsitsi Dangarembga by a Zimbabwe Court, and reiterate our calls to the Zimbabwe authorities to uphold their human rights obligations and desist from persecuting dissenting voices.
@EfieZethu
We are concerned by the UK High Court’s rejection of
#JulianAssange
’s appeal against his extradition order to the US, where he could face life in prison. We call for his immediate release, and for all charges against him to be dropped.
@Stella_Assange
@RSF_inter
@DEAcampaign
Solidarity with writer
@robertosaviano
after his anti-mafia show on public broadcaster RAI was axed following political pressure. Saviano faces up to 3 years in prison on criminal defamation charges brought by
#Italy
’s PM and Deputy PM:
#StandWithSaviano
#UK
: ‘a chilling precedent and a blow to public interest journalism’. We express our solidarity with
@carolecadwalla
who was ordered by the court to pay significant legal costs to Arron Banks.
The sentencing of Catalan writers and civil society leaders Jordi Sànchez and Jordi Cuixart to nine years in prison is a shocking outcome and must be overturned.
"Alhough Demritaş has been behind bars, he has been reminding us of the fact that the struggle for peace is now far more important than it has ever been before."
Former HDP leader Selahattin Demritaş has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize:
PEN International is deeply concerned by news that Mosab Abu Toha, Palestinian writer, poet, and founder of Gaza's first English-language library, has been arrested by the Israeli Defense Force while leaving
#Gaza
. We join calls demanding to know his whereabouts and the reasons
Today, our Writers for Peace Committee will honour
#Peru
journalist
#PaolaUgaz
with an Empty Chair. Ugaz has faced a campaign of harassment, threats, and defamation lawsuits for her investigative journalism. While one investigation against her was dropped in July 2023, another
We are outraged by the detention of Hanan Awwad, President of PEN Palestine, by Israeli soldiers. Holding a writer at gunpoint for her books is unacceptable. We stand with Awwad and all Palestinian writers facing violence under Israeli occupation.
@Pen_mena
#Assange
extradition case:
Julian Assange is seeking permission to appeal the 2021 district court ruling and
#Priti
Patel's decision to extradite him on the following grounds:
"When I was caught I started to evolve. When I started to evolve, I was tamed. As soon as my clothes were peeled away I became a tamed David’s deer”. Extract from
#GuiMinhai
's "Père David’s Deer", a poem written while in detention in 2017
#Uganda
: PEN Int’l welcomes the good news of novelist and PEN member
@KakwenzaRukira
's safe arrival in Germany earlier today. We thank all individuals & organizations that enabled his passage and
@PEN_Deutschland
for welcoming and supporting him:
We call on the Turkish authorities to abide by the European Court of Human Rights’ ruling and release Selahattin Demirtaş, PEN International. The opposition politician and writer remains jailed despite the Court ordering his release a month ago:
.
@PENCatala
and
@pen_int
release a statement denouncing attacks against freedom of expression and artistic freedom in Catalonia, urging the Spanish authorities to drop the charges against Jordi Sànchez and Jordi Cuixart and to release them immediately:
#India
: Indian government's increasing use of travel restrictions against writers, journalists and HRDs is the latest example of the ongoing crackdown on freedom of expression across the country. Our statement⬇️
@RanaAyyub
@Aakar__Patel
We applaud the decision by
@NobelPrize
to award Iranian writer and HRD
#NargesMohammadi
the Nobel Peace Prize. Mohammadi remains in prison in
#Iran
, serving a 10-year and 9-month sentence for her work. PEN International continues calls for the immediate release of her and all
"I was very much a person the most powerful government in the world wanted to go away."
Edward Snowden/
@Snowden
talks on whistleblowing, AI fears and six years in Russia:
'Our message to the Chinese authorities is simple: we will continue to campaign for Gui Minhai’s freedom and freedom of expression in China.' - PEN International President Jennifer Clement.
A
#UK
High Court hearing on 20 May will decide whether
#JulianAssange
’s permission to appeal can proceed. The dangerous prospect of his extradition is all too real. We urge the
#US
to drop all charges.
#FreeAssangeNOW
:
Empty Chair:
#JulianAssange
. As we prepare for our annual
#pencongress
, we stand in solidarity with Wikileaks founder and publisher, Assange, who is under an extradition warrant for obtaining and publishing classified military and diplomatic documents.
#Turkiye
: We condemn the sentencing of writer and opposition politician Selahattin Demirtaş to yet another prison term and renew calls for his immediate release
#FreeDemirta
ş
OPT/Israel: PEN International is deeply concerned to learn of news that the
@freedom_theatre
's Ahmed Tobasi and Mustafa Sheta were arrested today by Israeli forces. The Theatre's offices were also raided. We call for their immediate and unconditional release and for an end to the
PEN has reliably learned that
@KakwenzaRukira
is badly tortured & in need of urgent medical assistance. We demand the
#Uganda
authorities immediately & unconditionally release Kakwenza & stop persecuting him for expressing critical views.
#FreeKakwenza
We condemn the sentencing of writer and honorary PEN member
#SelahattinDemirta
ş to 42 years in prison. This verdict is yet another tragedy for the rule of law in
#T
ürkiye. We continue to stand alongside Demirtaş and all unfairly imprisoned writers until they are free.
BREAKING: Osman Kavala and all co-defendants present in court in Gezi trial acquitted of all charges. Kavala freed after spending over two years behind bars. We urge the Turkish authorities to
#FreeTurkeyMedia
once and for all
Today marks 5 years since
#JulianAssange
was arrested. He remains behind bars at Belmarsh prison in the
#UK
awaiting the decision on whether he can appeal his extradition to the
#US
. PEN International renews our call for his immediate release. Stop the extradition and
Today on
#WorldPressFreedomDay
, we feature the case of imprisoned journalist, media publisher, activist, writer
#JimmyLai
, who faces life in prison for his work in Hong Kong. Send Lai a solidarity message via
@englishpen
PENWrites campaign:
#FreeJimmyLai
'You write in order to change the world, knowing full well that you probably can't, but also knowing that literature is indispensable to the world.'
- James Baldwin
#NationalWritingDay
This is the moment that filmmaker Oleg Sentsov is reunited with his daughter after spending 5 years in prison in Siberia on trumped up charges. Welcome home Oleg.
#India
: PEN International condemns ongoing efforts to prosecute writers Arundhati Roy and Sheikh Showkat Hussain for comments they made in 2010. Counter-terrorism legislation should never be used to silence peaceful dissent. Our statement⬇️
Congratulations to Peruvian journalist and author Paola Ugaz, who received the prestigious LASA Media Award yesterday for her courageous investigations into the religious group Sodalicio de la Vida Cristiana. Ugaz has been persecuted for the last 6 years as a result and was
#GuiMinhai
is a writer, member of the Independent Chinese Centre and bookseller. Detained. Sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment. Join
@pen_int
's
#LiuXiaoboanniversary
campaign to get him released and guarantee his right to freedom of expression
On Monday, PEN International,
@englishpen
, and
@PEN_Norway
will return to the
#UK
High Court in solidarity with
#JulianAssange
. The hearing will determine whether Assange will be extradited to the
#US
or granted permission to appeal. We reiterate calls for his immediate release:
PEN International condemns the arrest of writer and prominent Palestinian activist
#AhedTamimi
by
#Israel
forces on 6 November. We demand the authorities disclose her whereabouts, release her immediately and unconditionally, and end the arbitrary detention of Palestinians:
Freedom of expression under threat - today we publish the PEN International Case List, which documents attacks on freedom of expression and writers across the globe. Read and download it here:
We call on the UK government to release Julian Assange from prison immediately and to block his extradition to the US.
This measure could save Mr Assange's life.
Creative Witness and PEN’s friend Zehra Doğan performs in support of imprisoned Uyghur writer
#PerhatTursun
, forcibly disappeared in Xinjiang in 2018
#FreePerhat
. This and more in our new
#CreativeWitnesses
episode coming out on the 8 of February
➡️
#FreeAssange
: We join
@englishpen
in urging the US authorities to drop the extradition order and the UK authorities to release Assange as a matter of urgency.
PEN International regrets
@litprom
's decision to postpone the award ceremony for Palestinian writer
#AdaniaShibli
who was set to receive the LiBeraturpreis for her novel Minor Detail. We believe literary platforms should ensure that dialogue – particularly during heightened
Breaking: Award-winning writer/journalist
@robertosaviano
today was found guilty of defaming Italy’s Prime Minister
@GiorgiaMeloni
and ordered to pay a fine. We utterly condemn the sentence and consider it a grave assault on free expression. We
#StandWithSaviano
:
Last night, renowned writer
@benokri
honoured the memory of Victoria Amelina by reciting her poem, ‘Poem About a Crow’ on stage after the
#PillowmanPlay
. Amelina was killed following a Russian missile strike in
#Ukraine
on 27 June 2023. Our thoughts remain with her family and
PEN International fears for the life of
@KakwenzaRukira
following his abduction at 2.30pm (EAT) today from Kitalya Prison by armed men believed to be military officers, just after a
#Uganda
court granted him bail.
Uyghur scholar Rahile Dawut disappeared in 2017 in China. Her whereabouts remains unknown. The PRC government refuses to confirm where she has been detained. Learn more about her case in our Case List 2022, Impunity Reigns – Writers Resist:
@akida_p
'We are volcanoes. When we women offer our experience as our truth, as human truth, all the maps change. There are new mountains.' | Ursula K. Le Guin would have been 89 yesterday.
'Daphne and her family deserve justice, not five years from now, not ten years from now. They deserve justice today.'
@MargaretAtwood
#JusticeForDaphne
We are deeply concerned about reports of attacks on publishing houses in the West Bank. Freedom of expression is fundamental to democracy and must be protected. PEN International stands in solidarity with those affected and calls for immediate action to safeguard press freedom.
We stand with Roberto Saviano/
@robertosaviano
.
Saviano, winner of the 2019 Oxfam Novib/PEN International Award, has risked his life to expose the truth about Italy’s criminal networks.
He faces up to three years in jail.
#StandWithSaviano
Journalist and artist, Zehra Doğan, finally walked out of prison today after serving her full sentence of 2 years, 9 months and 22 days, after being convicted for a painting, an article and social media posts.
Stella Assange talks us through the implications of Julian Assange’s case on freedom of expression around the world. Assange has won the right to appeal his extradition to the
#US
. Now, he must be freed and all charges dropped.
#FreeAssange
:
On 17 June 2012, blogger
@raif_badawi
was arrested in
#SaudiArabia
. 2,318 days later, he remains behind bars. We continue to call for his immediate and unconditional release.
PEN International and other PEN Centres will attend the public hearing of
@wikileaks
founder
#JulianAssange
on 20-21 Feb. The hearing will determine whether Assange can appeal his extradition to the US where he faces up to 175 years for exposing human rights abuses. We urge the
Day X is here
Protest to defend a free press.
20 February and 21 February
Time: 8.30am
Place: Royal Courts of Justice, London WC2A 2LL
Click here to register your attendance:
@sabrinatucci
@pen_int
#FreeAssange2024
We are deeply concerned by the news that former PEN America President,
@SalmanRushdie
, was attacked today just before giving a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution in New York. We condemn the attack and wish him a fast recovery:
PEN Delhi and PEN International are deeply concerned about ongoing threats against Neha Dixit, an award-winning journalist whose investigative reporting has shone an important light on political, social justice and gender issues in India. Our statement:
PEN condemns the communications blackout and indiscriminate bombing of Gaza. We call for an immediate ending of hostilities by all sides, for the restoration of communications networks, necessary for emergency response agencies to provide medical help to the injured.
The latest raid against independent newspaper
@appledaily_hk
is an example of the
#HongKong
government's ongoing assault on freedom of expression. Our statement⬇️
#JulianAssange
has tested positive for Covid-19 while held at Belmarsh Prison. Almost a week has passed since 5K protestors formed a
#humanchain4assange
. PEN International wishes Assange a quick recovery and urges once again his immediate release:
“Assange’s case is politically motivated and challenges the core of investigative journalism and democratic principles, necessitating the protection of these rights for the broader preservation of a free and responsible press.” – Burhan Sonmez, PEN International President. PEN
Happy birthday Roberto Saviano/
@robertosaviano
We continue to
#StandWithSaviano
as he faces up to three years in jail. The Italian authorities must urgently drop all criminal defamation charges against him.
We believe
#Assange
’s prosecution raises profound concerns about press freedom and sends a dangerous signal to journalists and publishers worldwide. Today more than ever, we need to fight to defend
#freeexpression
. Consider donating to PEN International:
The jailing of Pablo Hasél for his lyrics and tweets is yet another example of the Spanish authorities’ silencing of artistic voices.’
Rapper
#PabloHasel
is serving an unfair nine-month prison sentence. PEN calls for his immediate release.
Huge thanks to our President Burhan Sonmez, lawyer and wife of
#JulianAssange
, Stella Assange and journalist/podcaster Hattie Crisell for joining our 2nd Q&A in partnership with
#PillowmanPlay
. It was an honest conversation on the experience of persecuted writers, and the
Omar Barghouti has called for equality for Palestinians in Israel in accordance with international law. He now faces deportation as "a person who is doing everything to hurt" Israel:
Organisations call for the safeguarding of his residency status:
#Uganda
: We decry the fact that
#KakwenzaRukira
was forced to flee his country for simply holding & non-violently expressing his opinions. Free speech is not a crime: Torture is. PEN demands full accountability for those implicated in Kakwenza's persecution.
#EndTortureInUganda
Hear prominent writer,
@SalmanRushdie
read a quote by Ukrainian philosopher, writer, and journalist Volodymyr Yermolenko. Quotes on War is a collection of quotes by Ukrainian writers responding to the invasion of
#Ukraine
. Read:
@PenUkraine
@yermolenko_v