PEN International published its Case list for the 2022. This report provides a global analysis of the cases of writers facing harassment, arrest, violence and even death, worldwide which were monitored by PEN International between January to December 2022.
For over a century, PEN International has monitored on writers who have been denied the right to write freely and to comment on the world without fear of being arrested, harmed, or even killed, and has fought to protect those writers’ rights. In 1961, it began carefully documenting these attacks in what became known as the ‘Case List,’ which summarised who had been attacked, where and by whom, the judicial processes, and the reasons behind them.
The primary goal of the PEN International Case List is to inform its membership and those involved in campaigning for free expression, as well as to assist PEN Centres in determining where their attention should be.
According to PEN International research, throughout 2022, across all regions, writers have continued to be arrested, detained and often imprisoned for vaguely worded offences relating to national security, including in Bahrain, Bangladesh Belarus, China, India, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Morocco, Myanmar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the United Kingdom, and Vietnam.
Ma Thida, Chair of PEN International’s Writers in Prison Committee, said “This year’s Case List is an homage to all the writers who have disappeared, lost their lives, or had to flee to survive. Those who were harassed, threatened, intimidated, sued, physically attacked, or tortured.” (Pag. 2 of the report).
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PEN International promotes literature and freedom of expression. It is a forum where writers meet freely to discuss their work; it is also a voice speaking out for writers silenced in their own countries. For more information about PEN INTERNAITONAL and its work, visit their website pen-international.org.