PEN International's 2019 Case List
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The PEN International Case List 2019 COVER: A woman speaks through a megaphone during the protest. BANDUNG, INDONESIA - 2020/03/08: A woman speaks through a megaphone during the protest. International Womens Day is an official holiday for women. Women from various organizations took to the PEN International Case List streets, protesting against the women’s inequality and sexual violence. (Photo by Algi Febri Sugita/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) Charter Methodology The PEN Charter is based on resolutions passed at PEN International gathers its information from a About PEN International its International Congresses and may be summarised wide variety of sources and seeks to confirm its as follows: information through at least two independent sources. Where its information is unconfirmed, it will either take PEN International promotes literature and freedom of expression and is governed by no action, or word its outputs to reflect the fact that the PEN Charter. Founded in London in 1921, PEN International – PEN’s Secretariat – PEN affirms that: the information is as yet incomplete. Sources include connects an international community of writers. It is a forum where writers meet freely press reports, reports from individuals in the region in to discuss their work; it is also a voice speaking out for writers silenced in their own • Literature knows no frontiers and must remain question, reports from other human rights groups, PEN countries. Through Centres in over 100 countries, PEN operates on five continents. common currency among people in spite of political members themselves, embassy officials, academics, PEN International is a non-political organisation which holds Special Consultative or international upheavals. prisoners’ families, lawyers and friends, and exile Status at the UN, Associate Status at UNESCO and Observer Status at the African groups. It also partners with other international NGOs, • In all circumstances, and particularly in time of Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. such as ARTICLE 19, Committee to Protect Journalists, war, works of art, the patrimony of humanity at Freedom House, Index on Censorship, and Reporters The Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of PEN International was set up in 1960 as large, should be left untouched by national or without Borders. It is a founder member of IFEX – a result of mounting concern about attempts to silence critical voices around the political passion. the International Freedom of Expression Exchange, world through the detention of writers. It works on behalf of those who are detained • Members of PEN should at all times use what a collaborative, on-line service in which national, or otherwise persecuted for their opinions expressed in writing and for writers who are influence they have in favour of good understanding regional and international organisations involved in under attack for their peaceful political activities or for the practice of their profession, and mutual respect between nations and people; the campaign for free expression pool information and provided that they did not use violence or advocate violence or racial hatred. The work they pledge themselves to do their utmost to amplify each other’s voices. of the WiPC in documenting persecution of writers resulted in the development of dispel all hatreds and to champion the ideal of one PEN’s Case List – an annual record of attacks, imprisonment and persecution of those Writers are frequently also journalists and media humanity living in peace and equality in one world. who use the written word to express themselves, in whatever form. commentators, and vice versa, so PEN will also include • PEN stands for the principle of unhampered a person on the list whose primary role is as a writer, Member centres of PEN International are active in campaigning for an improvement transmission of thought within each nation but who may be under pressure for their journalism. in the conditions of persecuted writers and journalists. They send letters to the and between all nations, and members pledge A journalist who is threatened for writing a book may governments concerned and lobby their own governments to campaign for the themselves to oppose any form of suppression of also become a PEN concern, such as where crime release of detained writers and for investigations into cases of torture and killings. freedom of expression in the country and community reporters publish books based on their investigations Through writing to the families and, where possible, directly to prisoners, they provide to which they belong, as well as throughout the into criminality. Similarly, PEN will on occasion take up encouragement and hope. PEN International and its Centres also advocate for world wherever this is possible. PEN declares for a visual artists, including filmmakers and cartoonists. systemic change to restrictive laws and practices, including by submitting its freedom free press and opposes arbitrary censorship in time of expression concerns and recommendations to various international and regional Rather than attempting to duplicate the work of its of peace. It believes that the necessary advance of human rights bodies. media rights colleagues, this list features those cases the world towards a more highly organised political that are either unique to PEN and are not within other and economic order renders a free criticism of organisations’ remits, such as writers of literature and governments, administrations and institutions poets, or where there is a crossover between journalism imperative. And since freedom implies voluntary Authors and and literature. It should also be noted that the Case List restraint, members pledge themselves to oppose can only provide a snapshot of what is likely to be a such evils of a free press as mendacious publication, larger phenomenon: offences are often not reported, deliberate falsehood and distortion of facts for Special Thanks writers may self-censor, and other obstacles arise in political and personal ends. terms of documenting the silencing of writers. This is highly likely to be the case for women writers as the full Editor: Sara Whyatt extent of censorship of women must be seen within the wider context of gender-based violence, and lack of Copy editing: Cathal Sheerin Sponsors access to education, civil, political and cultural rights. Authors: Aurélia Dondo, Basim Mardin, Cathy McCann, Lianna Merner, The Case List is intended to provide an overview and Alicia Quiñones, Emma Wadsworth-Jones Our work would be impossible without our an indication of global trends, and a guide to the type of challenges writers face, in which countries, and the Special thanks to: Aaliya Ahmed, Ingrid Brandvik, Nael Georges, Sponsors who include: kind of actions that other writers worldwide are taking Sahar Halaimzai, Michael Halmshaw, Arife Köse, in support of their colleagues. Faith Scott Deuchar, Holly Strauss Swedish International Development PEN International is a non-political organisation which holds Agency, Norwegian Ministry for Foreign Observer Status with the African Commission on Human and Affairs, the Fritt Ord Foundation, the Evan Peoples’ Rights, Special Consultative Status at the United Nations Cornish Foundation, the United Nations and Associate Status at UNESCO. Democracy Fund, individual donations, PEN International is a registered charity in England and Wales with registration number 1117088. membership fees from PEN members and supporters of the PEN Publishers, pen-international.org Writers, Readers and Screen Circles 1 INTRODUCTION 2 OVERVIEW 5 WRITERS KILLED IN 2019 9 EXPLANATION OF TERMS USED 10 DAY OF THE IMPRISONED WRITER 11 REGIONAL OVERVIEW 14 EMBLEMATIC CASES 5 AFRICA CASE LIST 2019 Africa 11 24 PEN ACTIONS 25 REGIONAL OVERVIEW 27 EMBLEMATIC CASES 28 AMERICAS CASE LIST 2019 Americas 25 41 PEN ACTIONS 42 REGIONAL OVERVIEW Asia and 45 EMBLEMATIC CASES the Pacific 42 46 ASIA AND THE PACIFIC CASE LIST 2019 81 REGIONAL OVERVIEW 83 EMBLEMATIC CASES Europe and 84 ASIA AND THE PACIFIC CASE LIST 2019 Central Asia 81 107 PEN ACTIONS 109 REGIONAL OVERVIEW Middle 112 EMBLEMATIC CASES East and 113 ASIA AND THE PACIFIC CASE LIST 2019 North Africa109 128 PEN ACTIONS PEN International Writers acting in solidarity with their persecuted colleagues Global Overview As I write this, much of the world is in the lockdown mode. That there are slightly more cases this year – 212 instead Cities teeming with people and buzzing with traffic have of 205 – does not mean we can satisfy ourselves that it gone silent; the streets are deserted, the shops have could have been worse. Rather, it should spur us to note shutters down, and people discreetly try to make way for that it is not getting better. Asia has shown a significant others and not get too close. Sitting at home and writing increase in the number of cases, and the pattern remains What is the PEN International case list? this, I admire even more the courage, grace, and fortitude dismayingly similar – detentions without trial, jail terms of writers around the world who have been imprisoned for criticizing the army, some can’t travel outside their A brief explanation over the years. Compared to them, what we are going countries, and some, for writing in minority languages. through is insignificant. We fear the world outside; they It is hard to measure the chilling effect on freedom of want the freedom that lies outside the doorstep. We can PEN International has for nearly a century monitored and advocated for writers who have suffered expression. How many poems didn’t get written? How step out of the door when we want and take risks; they repression of their right to write freely, and to comment on the world around them without fear of arrest, many novels remained in the drawer? How many ideas don’t have the choice of stepping out; they remain at the violence and even death. In 1961 it began to formally record these attacks in what eventually became were suppressed in the mind? How many words were will of their persecutors and prosecutors.