Freedom to Write Index 2024

Introduction

Authoritarian regimes are innately adept at the creation of narratives. Indeed, the structure of authoritarianism is dependent upon the codification of a national myth—upon the expunging of “inconvenient” truths on the timeline, the rewriting and repression of history, and the attempted silencing of all those who aim to defy this erasure. Writers pose one of the greatest threats to this perpetuated silencing. By virtue of the writer’s place as record-keeper within their community and their nation, the very acts of writing, documentation, and storytelling become acts of inherent dissidence. Governments understand the role that writers play in promoting critical inquiry and cultivating visions of a better, more just world. They recognize the power of words to affirm historical truths, give voice to those whose narratives have been excised from the historical ledger, develop or maintain culture, and hold institutions to account. Repressive governments and ruling authorities throughout the world seek to suppress writers because it is writers who breathe life—and truth—into the stories that imperil a government’s control of both individual lives and national narratives. But democracies have been slow to understand that attacks on writers are both the precursor to and a consequence of broader attacks on human rights, democracy, and free expression. Throughout history, the targeting of writers has served as both a canary in the coal mine and a primary characteristic of authoritarian state censorship—it stems from similar motives and is a key strand in the intertwined DNA of democracy and free expression.

As geopolitics continue to shift and authoritarian tendencies spread to countries that were once considered safely anchored in openness, we are seeing that free expression, and therefore writers, are increasingly in the crosshairs of repression in a much wider range of countries. The Freedom to Write Index recorded writers in jail in 40 countries in 2024, more than in all previous editions, indicating that a growing number of countries—ranging from extremely closed authoritarian regimes to nascent democracies to nominally free societies with long traditions of open discourse—are seeking to clamp down on dissenting words and ideas. 

Of the 375 writers held behind bars for all or part of 2024, a growing number—80 in 2024, compared to 76 in 2023—are being detained without any charges at all, or have been charged and are awaiting trial. This trend is particularly apparent in China (33 cases), Egypt (9 cases), and Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory (8 cases). Other writers remain in custody after their sentences have been served, detained indefinitely in limbo as governments decline to release them. Egyptian poet Galal El-Behairy, for instance, served his full sentence as of September 2023, yet continues to be detained—according to his lawyer, this surpasses the maximum duration permitted under Egypt’s detention laws.

Of considerable concern are the conditions under which a large number of these unjustly jailed writers are held, as government authorities aim to further isolate them and erase their influence. The scholar and blogger Ilham Tohti, who has served a decade of a life sentence for writing about Uyghur rights in China, has been held incommunicado since 2017 with no access to his family and lawyers and is reportedly in poor health. In Iran, human rights activist, author, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, who has been sentenced multiple times to punish her words and advocacy, faced delays in receiving adequate medical care for several serious health concerns during 2024 and was only released temporarily after undergoing complex surgery including a bone graft in November. In numerous cases included in our Index, jailed writers are routinely subject to solitary confinement, abuse, torture, and the denial of medical care. We draw inspiration from jailed writers’ attempts to protest these conditions as well as official actions intended to silence them. The hunger strike undertaken by imprisoned essayist Xu Zhiyong, or the acts of civil disobedience by the women jailed in Iran’s Evin Prison, serve as potent reminders that even from behind bars, writers still have a voice.Despite the ongoing attempts to silence dissident voices and the escalating dangers to writers and free expression worldwide, the release of certain long-imprisoned writers in 2024 served as a beacon of hope to the international community. After the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria, poet and blogger Tal Al-Mallouhi emerged from one of Syria’s most notorious prisons, freed by rebel forces in December 2024. Al-Mallouhi, who had been targeted for poetry that she had written online about Palestinian rights, was once described as “the youngest known prisoner of conscience in the world.” The obfuscated circumstances surrounding her detainment in 2009 and horrific conditions she was subjected to sparked outrage. Today, al-Mallouhi is free after spending 15 years in prison, from the ages of 18 to 33.

---

The Global Picture

Sixty-two writers were newly jailed in 2024, bringing the total number in custody for exercising their free expression during the year to 375. 

Jailed writers were unjustly detained or imprisoned in connection with their writing, work, or related advocacy across 40 countries worldwide—the highest number of countries recorded in the Index’s six-year history. As in previous years, countries in the Asia-Pacific region jailed the highest number of writers, followed by the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)—the two regions together accounted for 76 percent of the total worldwide. Although relatively few writers are jailed in either the Americas or Sub-Saharan Africa, they face other threats to their speech, work, and advocacy, including physical attacks, forced displacement or exile, spurious legal charges, or verbal and online harassment.

PEN America’s Writers at Risk Database currently contains 975 active cases of writers at risk in 83 countries. These cases present a comprehensive picture of the threats that writers in all genres and on a range of platforms face when they criticize those in power or imagine alternate visions. In particular, the Database provides insights into the types of threats that writers face, including in those countries that do not necessarily use imprisonment and detention as their primary tactic of repression. The range of methods used to punish those who wield their pens and their words in ways that repressive governments do not like includes forcible disappearance, murder, continual harassment, and displacement/exile. In 2024 there were 51 cases of murder in the Database, 14 of forcible disappearance, and 143 cases where individuals were displaced or forced to flee from their countries because of their work or their identity as a writer.

The year 2024 showed an increase in transnational repression, as writers continue to seek refuge abroad to escape persecution. A total of 143 writers are currently in forced exile or otherwise displaced. Despite crossing borders to try to reach safety, at least 59 continue to face harassment, while their families at home remain vulnerable to intimidation and retaliatory measures.

---

Gender

The majority of writers behind bars during 2024 were men (84 percent), and men also make up the overwhelming majority of cases in the Database. Women comprise 16 percent of the 2024 Index count, as compared to 15 percent in 2023 and 14 percent in 2022. There were no cases identified as non-binary in the 2024 Index count. Countries that have detained the highest number of women writers and public intellectuals generally track closely with those who have jailed the highest total number of writers.

Collectively, authorities in China and Iran—the two countries that jailed the most writers during 2024—accounted for 23 of the 59 (39 percent) women writers in the 2024 Index. The global trend analysis over the past six years shows a clear uptick starting in 2022, which was tied primarily to the crackdown on protesters and the creative community in Iran, during which women were particularly targeted. For the past three years, Iran held the most women writers (13 in 2024) behind bars, reflecting the continued crackdown on women during and after the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests and broader protest movement. In 2024, female writers were detained for opposing the mandatory hijab rules or writing in support of feminist ideas, and women political prisoners such as Narges Mohammadi engaged in sustained writing and activism on themes of women’s and human rights from behind bars. A higher than average proportion (>25 percent) of detained writers in Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Russia, and Türkiye are also women, suggesting that women play a significant role in socio-political movements in these countries.

---

Professional designation

The most prevalent professions of those incarcerated in 2024 were online commentators (203), journalists (127), literary writers (115), activists (92), scholars (68), poets (67), creative artists (37), singer/songwriters (35), translators (14), editors (12), publishers (11), and dramatists (4). Many writers included in the Index and the Database hold multiple professional designations, reflecting the reality that their writing and expression take multiple forms across diverse platforms. The category of “journalist” includes news reporters as well as opinion writers and columnists; according to our methodology a journalist is only included in the Index if they also have another professional designation in the list, or primarily write opinion or commentary.

The high numbers of writers in the online commentator and journalist categories suggest that a significant proportion of the cases included jailing or other threats because of their writing commentary on politics or official policies, economic or social themes, or advocacy for a range of human rights.

Notably, individuals tagged as online commentators (a category that includes bloggers as well as those who use social media platforms such as Facebook or X/Twitter as a key vehicle for their expression) remained at the top of the list. This reflects the reality that in restrictive countries such as China, Vietnam, Iran, or Saudi Arabia, where offline platforms (such as newspapers, book publishers, etc) are almost wholly under state control or subject to heavy censorship (whether from the state or the writer self-censoring), the online space may provide the only outlet–even if subject to surveillance, censorship, and manipulation–for independent or dissenting voices. In addition, the global audience and instantaneous reach of online platforms means that authoritarian governments are particularly anxious to exert control over digital writing and communications. Thus, the vast majority of new 2024 cases in China were individuals writing online, and the numbers in other extremely closed political systems, such as Iran, Vietnam, and Saudi Arabia, also remained high. The number of online commentators has also increased significantly in our Index over time (from 80 in 2019 to 203 in 2024), suggesting that more and more writers globally are at risk or being jailed for their online expression.

---

Top 10 Countries of Concern

Writers Jailed in 2024
1. China* (118)
2. Iran (43)
3. Saudi Arabia (23)
3. Vietnam (23)
5. Israel** (21)
6. Russia (18)
6. Türkiye (18)
8. Belarus (15)
9. Egypt (10)
9. Myanmar (10)
*Including autonomous regions
**Including the Occupied Palestinian Territory

In 2024, there were few major shifts in the list of Top 10 countries jailing writers, reflecting continuing restrictions on free expression and dissent brought about by war and conflict. China and Iran remain by far the most inhospitable places in the world for writers exercising their free expression. The two countries jail the most writers, 118 and 43 respectively—or a combined 43 percent of the total count—and also occupy the top two positions in PEN America’s Writers at Risk Database. The positioning remained largely stable in Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Russia, and Türkiye, all of which registered slight increases in the number of writers held in 2024. Belarus and Myanmar, both countries that had experienced wide-ranging political crackdowns in 2020 and 2021, registered fewer new cases and the release of some writers in 2024, despite an overall environment of repression. Meanwhile, Egypt rejoined the Top 10, driven by an increase in prolonged and arbitrary detentions targeting writers. This resurgence reflects a broader pattern of the state’s systematic weaponization of the legal system to suppress dissent, curtail freedom of expression, and silence independent literary and journalistic voices.

---

China

*Including autonomous regions

China remains the leading jailer of writers and public intellectuals. In 2024, the number of writers jailed in China rose again, jumping from 107 cases to 118—around a third of whom are primarily online commentators. Of the total number of writers, nine are female. Of these 118 writers, 33 are detained without charges or are in pre-trial detention.

This increase takes place in the context of an increasingly closed environment for free expression, including through technology and infrastructure that enables the Chinese government to censor, monitor, and control all digital information that flows within, and into and out of the country, especially within autonomous regions. This has expanded to include efforts to “standardize” language online. Alongside its impacts on free expression for writers in China, the government’s control over information—including disclosure on political offenses—means access to complete, up-to-date, and accurate information on imprisoned writers continues to be a significant challenge. 

A revised State Secrets Law also came into force in May 2024, which further broadened Beijing’s purview. The Chinese government has also stepped up its policies of forced cultural assimilation, including the widespread use of Mandarin over minority ethnic languages and the “Sinicization” of religion. 

Under the pretense of “national security,” authorities continue to target writers for writing about topics like democracy, criticism of the CCP, and the promotion of ethnic minority languages and culture. Just under half of the imprisoned writers during 2024 were Uyghur, Tibetan, or Mongolian, often arrested and imprisoned for vague charges that allege “separatism.” Among key Uyghur writers who remain imprisoned is Ilham Tohti—a Uyghur economist, blogger, 2014 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Honoree, and member of the Uyghur PEN Center—who has been detained incommunicado since 2017. 2024 marked the 10-year anniversary of an Umruqi court sentencing him to life in prison. While Tibetan writer and poet Gendun Lhundrub—whose whereabouts were unknown for three years—was released in November 2024, he continues to be surveilled and lives under severe restrictions. Mongolian writer Lhamjab A. Borjigin, who was arrested by Chinese authorities in independent Mongolia in 2023, remains detained. 

During 2024, Chinese authorities also cracked down on themes that they had previously not censored, from the economy to online erotic fiction. Of eight cases new to the Index this year, authorities arrested three writing under the following pen names—Yuan Shang Bai Yun Jian, Yi Xie, and Ci Xi—for their homoerotic writing on the Taiwan-based adult fiction site, Haitang Literature.  

Imprisoned writers face long-term sentences, denial of communication with family and friends, and ill-treatment, including credible accusations of torture and withholding of medical care. In October 2024, essayist and 2020 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Honoree Xu Zhiyong began a hunger strike in response to such conditions. In February 2024, Chinese courts gave Chinese-born Australian writer Yang Hengjun a suspended death sentence. Since his detention in 2019, his health has deteriorated significantly. In June 2024, Radio Free Asia reported on the hospitalization of Tibetan writer Thupten Lodoe following a severe illness.

Writers in Hong Kong, an administrative region of China, face an increasingly hostile environment for expression. In March 2024, the Hong Kong government passed a second national security law, the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance (also known as Article 23), which criminalized any act broadly interpreted as threatening national security. Alongside five others, Chow Hang-tung, an online commentator, was arrested for allegedly violating this law. After the passage of the law, news outlets also reported on schools reviewing and banning books in order to obey national security laws. In late 2024, the trial of Jimmy Lai, an opinion journalist and the founder of prominent Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily who was charged and detained under the Beijing-imposed National Security Law in 2020, resumed.

Amidst this rise in jailed writers, the Chinese government has also strengthened its reach across its own borders, deepening the chilling effect on expression. Over the last year, human rights groups reported on transnational repression, including in Japan, Europe, and North America. Those who experienced transnational repression also described the harassment of family and friends still in China. 

---

Iran

Iran remained in second place globally, jailing a total of 43 writers during the year, down from 49 in 2023. Of this total, 30 are men and 13 (30 percent) are women. This figure represents a continued decline in numbers from the sharp spike seen in 2022 when writers were caught up in a wide-ranging crackdown on protests and other forms of dissent, including by the creative community. However, this count is still considerably higher than prior to the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests. This number suggests that writers are still playing a key role in advocating for political and social change, including challenging the mandatory hijab law and trying to end the use of capital punishment. Of the dozens of writers arrested after the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests in late 2022, the majority were released either in late 2022 or 2023, though subject to conditions limiting their free expression. A significant number of the writers released have fled into exile. 

New cases of writers and artists being detained were regularly reported in 2024, alongside additional sentences for those already behind bars. As in previous years, individuals from ethnic and religious minority communities, as well as female writers whose expression focuses on women’s rights issues, were particularly at risk. Kurdish writers, musicians, and artists continue to face acute, extreme repression and attack from Iranian authorities. Kurdish rapper Saman Yasin fled Iran in December 2024 two months after being placed on medical leave in prison. He was arrested and imprisoned in 2022 and charged with “war against God,” a conviction that carries a death sentence. Over the course of two years in prison, Yasin was subject to torture, lack of medical care for ailing physical health, mock execution, and psychiatric deterioration. Sasan Chamanara, a Kurdish singer-songwriter and online commentator, was arrested and detained in January 2024 and charged with “propaganda against the system.” He had previously been imprisoned and tortured for participating in the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests and advocating for women’s rights at his concerts. Kurdish folk singer and songwriter Aram Baleki was arrested for unknown reasons and taken to an undisclosed location on December 20, 2024—sources trace his arrest to anti-government online posts, and his whereabouts are still unknown. 

The government also furthered its crackdown on other ethnic minorities in 2024. Gilaki poet Peyman Farahavar was arrested and tortured in August 2024 for reasons related to his political poetry, which openly protests injustices and ecological issues in Iran. Like Saman Yasin, Farahavar too has been faced with the death penalty on charges of “war against god.” Baha’i poet Mahvash Sabet has been serving a 10 year sentence in Iran since July 2022, and has been subject to repeated torture, abuse, and solitary confinement. While in prison, she has written open letters on Baha’i rights and, in March 2024, she signed onto a letter from prison condemning gender apartheid in Iran. In December, Sabet was transferred to a hospital and granted medical furlough following heart surgery.

Female political prisoners continue to face punishments for their writing and advocacy against the compulsory hijab, prison conditions, and other human rights violations. On August 6, 2024, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi and several other women were attacked and brutally beaten by Iranian military forces and prison guards at Iran’s notorious Evin prison. The week of this attack, 30 people had been hanged by the regime, largely in connection with the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests in 2022. The assault at Evin, which injured a number of jailed writers and activists, was seen as government retaliation against the women’s protest against executions in Iran. 

Poet and activist Sepideh Rashnu was summoned repeatedly to serve her prison sentence during the year, but appeals kept her out of prison in 2024. Writer Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee has been in and out of prison since 2019—in 2023 she and her fellow inmates began a hunger strike in solidarity with Narges Mohammadi, and today, she is still serving a seven-year sentence on charges of “collusion” and “propaganda.” Activist and literary translator Atefeh Rangriz was arrested and sentenced to nine years and seven months in prison on charges of “propaganda” and “spreading misinformation” due to a Telegram group where she published translations of Argentinian feminist Veronica Gago’s writing. Arrests of women writers also made up a significant number of new arrests in 2024. Scholar, publisher, and poet Hura Nibakht was summoned in June 2024 and accused of “insulting the Supreme leader” and “propaganda.” Two days later, she was arrested and sentenced to a year in Evin Prison, where she has faced retaliation after publishing a letter on women’s rights. Columnist and literary translator Sarvenaz Ahmadi was assaulted by prison guards while serving a six-year sentence in connection with the Mahsa Amini protests—she was denied medical leave for over two months after the attack, although she was granted a three day leave and later released on parole following a medical strike.

Meanwhile, longstanding political prisoners such as Narges Mohammadi continued to write and speak out from jail in support of political change and against human rights violations. In December, Mohammadi was temporarily released on medical grounds after facing deteriorating health for over five months and undergoing an operation on her leg in November. Rapper Toomaj Salehi, who was arrested in 2022 for his advocacy for women’s rights in his music and public statements, was also released in December 2024, but announced that he had been summoned to court again after releasing a new song in early 2025.

---

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia continued to hold a large number of writers in prison in 2024, with several new cases reported, accounting a total of 23. The use of draconian sentences against social media users indicates authorities’ interest in closing all avenues for unsanctioned expression, and bloggers and online commentators face constant threat of online harassment, smear campaigns, arrest, and incommunicado detention. Many of those serving sentences have been jailed since Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman launched a wide-ranging crackdown on perceived opposition in 2017. In 2024, Palestinian journalist and online commentator Hatem al-Najjar was detained in Saudi Arabia for nine months after pro-government social media accounts resurfaced his tweets from 2014 and flooded the internet with the hashtag “#Arrest_Hatem_AlNajjer.” 

A significant percentage of online commentators were arrested and detained specifically for advocacy related to women’s rights and criticism of state-imposed regulations on women. In January 2024, blogger and social media influencer Manahel al-Otaibi, who was first arrested in 2022 for utilizing her platforms to voice her opinion on women’s rights in Saudi Arabia, was sentenced to 11 years in prison, partly for her public calls to end male guardianship rules across the kingdom. In September, she was stabbed in the face by an unknown woman in prison and held in solitary confinement for two weeks. Asma al-Subaie, an online commentator and scholar who spoke out against the guardianship system during her time as a university student, has been detained without charge since 2021. 

Eight of the writers counted in the Index are serving extremely long sentences of at least 11 years. Economist and blogger Essam Al-Zamil is still serving a 15-year prison sentence after being charged with “joining a terrorist organization” in 2018. Fatima El-Shawarbi, an online commentator who tweeted about political prisoners, women’s rights, and economic issues from a pseudonymous social media account, is serving 30 years in prison after she was sentenced by the Criminal Court in 2023. Noura al-Qahtani, an online commentator and literary scholar, was first arrested in 2021 for “online activities” in which she condemned Saudi human rights violations and called for the release of political figures in Saudi Arabia. Al-Qahtani, who holds a PhD from Leeds University in the UK and has written articles for Al-Jazeera, is currently serving a 45-year prison sentence for “preparing, sending, and storing information, through the internet, seeking to harm public order” and “seeking the disturb the social fabric, national unity, social cohesion, and basic law.” Blogger and commentator Dawood al-Ali, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison by the Specialized Criminal Court in Riyadh in 2022, was released in 2024 after four years in detention under unclear circumstances. In many cases, Saudi authorities hold detainees for years without publicly stating the charges; when the charges are known they are often vague. 

Once released, former prisoners’ ability to resume their writing and lives is circumscribed by conditions imposed on their release, including decades-long travel bans and prohibitions on returning to their former jobs or engaging in online expression. Examples include activist Loujain Al-Hathloul and columnist Eman Al-Nafjan—both detained in 2018 in relation to their women’s rights advocacy—who were eventually freed from prison but are today still subject to considerable restrictions on their freedom. Saudi authorities employ an extensive surveillance state, which not only effectively censors most criticism of the government but also prevents reporting on detention conditions and proceedings against detained writers. The ongoing impunity in the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, along with Saudi authorities’ well-documented attempts to target other dissidents abroad, further contributes to the chill.

---

Vietnam

In 2024, the Vietnamese government intensified its crackdown on free expression, with the number of jailed writers rising to 23, maintaining Vietnam’s position as the third-worst jailer of writers globally. The government intensified its use of vague legal provisions like Articles 117 and 331 of the Penal Code to target writers, journalists, and human rights defenders for peaceful expression, with these articles designed to suppress free expression and press freedom. Additionally, in November 2024, the Vietnamese government passed Decree 147/2024 which expanded surveillance capabilities and stricter controls on online content, further curbing free expression online.  

Online commentator Nguyen Vu Binh was sentenced to seven years under Article 117 of the Vietnamese penal code. Binh, who was taken into custody by police in Hanoi on 29 February 2024, has been a contributing blogger to Radio Free Asia’s Vietnamese Service and was an honorary member of several PEN Centers. The recent defunding of the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) has severely impacted Radio Free Asia and similar networks, limiting their ability to support writers like Binh. 

Vietnam continued to deny access to medical treatment to prisoners including imprisoned online commentator and Independent Journalist Association Vietnam (IJAVN) member Le Huu Minh Tuan, who was sentenced to 11 years. Since he was taken into custody, Tuan’s health has worsened significantly. He can no longer eat solid foods and struggles to walk; his relatives report he is “pale” and “only bone and skin.” Despite repeated pleas from his family for over a year, Tuan has not received adequate medical care. Tuan’s colleagues, IJAVN president Pham Chi Dung and vice president Nguyen Tuong Thuy remain behind bars, sentenced to 15 and 11 years respectively. 

Vietnam continues to imprison writers, journalists, and dissidents for long periods of time including 2024 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Honoree Pham Doan Trang, who was sentenced to nine years in 2021 for “anti-state propaganda.” Authorities continue to deny her access to political, social, and international news, allowing her to watch only agricultural programs—a tactic that is clearly being used to punish her by depriving her of intellectual engagement and connection to the outside world.

Online commentator Dang Thi Hue, along with her friends and family, has faced ongoing harassment by the Vietnamese government. In May 2024, she was abducted by six individuals, one in a police uniform, and detained for over 24 hours. During interrogation, she was pressured to stop supporting prisoners of conscience and posting critical content on Facebook. After the interrogation, she was forced into hiding for her safety.

On September 20, 2024,  Vietnamese poet Tran Huynh Duy Thuc was released eight months ahead of his scheduled release, just days before Vietnam General Secretary and President To Lam’s visit to the U.S. where he attended the 79th UN General Assembly session and met with U.S. President Biden. Thuc described his release as a “forced pardon” in a Facebook post after returning home, stating that he had been “carried out of the prison despite the objections of [his] fellow political prisoners.”

The Vietnamese government not only imprisons and threatens writers, but also suppresses everyday free expression by monopolizing traditional media like radio, television, and newspapers. Additionally, Vietnam controls the book industry by tightly controlling publishing, requiring pre-approval for content, censoring dissenting voices, and limiting access to independent or foreign publications. While the internet and platforms like Facebook and YouTube offer spaces for dissent, they are increasingly subjected to government censorship.

---

Israel

*Including the Occupied Palestinian Territory

In 2024, Israel escalated its targeted suppression of Palestinian voices, maintaining its position as the fifth worst jailer of writers, with seven new cases of administrative detention. The Israeli government’s ongoing weaponization of its counterterrorism law to silence dissent—particularly in the West Bank for criticism of its occupation of the Palestinian Territory and of the war in Gaza—has resulted in multiple arrests on charges of incitement or “sympathy with terrorist organizations.” Many of those arrested remain in prolonged administrative detention, held without formal charges or evidence against them, such as The Freedom Theatre producer and opinion writer, Mustafa Sheta, who has been in concurrent six month periods of administrative detention since December 2023.  

Mahmoud Fatafta, a Palestinian columnist and political commentator, was arrested by Israeli security forces at a checkpoint near Abu Dis in the West Bank while traveling with his 10-year-old son. Authorities later cited a Facebook post—shared with his nearly 5,000 followers—in which he quoted Egyptian scholar Abdul Wahab al-Mesiri: “The more brutal the colonizer becomes, the nearer his end is.” This post was reportedly used as justification for his arrest and subsequent detention. The crackdown has extended beyond Palestinian voices to include Jewish-Israeli writers critical of state policy, such as prominent anarchist and anti-Zionist activist Yonatan Pollak, who was charged with incitement in July 2024 for a speech he gave in 2021 while receiving the Leibowitz Prize, as well as a Haaretz article he wrote in 2020. 

Other writers, such as prominent feminist scholar and Hebrew University Professor Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, have also come under intense scrutiny. Based in Haifa, Israel, she was briefly detained in April 2024 on suspicion of incitement, following comments made a month earlier during a podcast interview. During her arrest Shalhoub-Kevorkian was strip searched and handcuffed, her books were confiscated, and she was interrogated about her work. Prior to her arrest, she was suspended from her position at the Faculty of Law, but was later reinstated. In late 2023, she faced mounting pressure to resign after signing an open letter calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and characterizing Israel’s military actions as genocide—further underscoring the increasingly hostile environment toward critical and dissenting voices, even within Israel’s academic institutions.

In addition to attacks against individual writers in the West Bank and Israel, Israel has also  targeted Palestinian literature by raiding the internationally acclaimed Palestinian Educational Bookshop in East Jerusalem. The shop owners, author Mahmoud Muna and his nephew Ahmed, were briefly detained on charges of “disrupting public order,” and accused of selling books containing “incitement and support for terrorism,” in reference to a children’s book titled From the Jordan to the Sea. 

These incidents unfolded alongside broader institutional efforts to criminalize dissent. Earlier this year, the Israeli Knesset passed legislation criminalizing minimization, denial, or celebration of Hamas’ attack on October 7, 2023. Initially introduced in early 2024, the now-law significantly broadens the scope for interpretation, heightening the risk that legitimate political discourse and expression—particularly among Palestinian communities—can be mischaracterized and criminalized.

As violence escalates in Gaza, the free expression, cultural and intellectual cost has been staggering. According to PEN International, this is the deadliest war for writers since World War II. By December 2024, PEN America had documented the deaths of at least 125 cultural figures as a result of Israel’s military campaign. This includes 24 writers, 83 professors, 12 poets, two songwriters, two filmmakers, one playwright, and one translator. These figures reflect not only the human toll of the war, but also its devastating impact on Gaza’s cultural and academic life.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 84 Palestinian journalists and media workers were killed by Israeli forces in 2024—a record high, highlighting the lethal conditions under which Palestinian reporters have been working.

---

Russia

The Russian government’s crackdown on free expression continued into 2024, as authorities held 18 writers in prison or detention during the year. The overwhelming majority of writers have been jailed for their opposition to Russia’s war in Ukraine. The 2024 figure increased from 16 writers in 2023, the first year that Russia was ranked among the Top 10 jailers as a result of its expanding crackdown on anti-war expression after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

While most of the 18 writers counted in this year’s Index were already in custody at the start of 2024, authorities newly detained two writers in 2024. Vyacheslav Malakhov is a poet who publishes his works on Telegram in what one reader calls “poetic reporting.” He was arrested in January 2024 for “discrediting the army” after having been fined for his online posts in 2023. According to Malakhov’s lawyer, the case stems from a Telegram post about homophobia, chauvinism, and the hypocrisy of the Russian government. He was sentenced to two years in prison. Alexander Skobov, a renowned historian and author who regularly wrote opinion pieces online including the now defunct Grani.ru, was arrested in April 2024. Skobov is a Soviet-era dissident who, in the ‘70s and ‘80s, was forcibly confined in a psychiatric hospital for six years. His most recent imprisonment stems from his writing on Telegram about the 2022 Crimean Bridge explosion. A Russian military court ultimately sentenced the 67-year-old writer to 16 years in prison for “justifying terrorism” and “being a member of a terrorist organization.”

Several other writers already in pre-trial detention were sentenced during 2024, some convicted of spurious charges related to “terrorism.” Author and sociologist Boris Kagarlitsky was initially sentenced to a 600,000 ruble fine without prison time, but on appeal he was handed a five year sentence in a penal colony for his writing on the charge of “justifying terrorism.” Like historian Skobov, Kagarlitsky made comments about the Crimean Bridge explosion. Poet and theater director Zhenya Berkovich and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk, first arrested in May 2023, were each sentenced to six years in a penal colony in July 2024. They were convicted of “justifying terrorism” for their award-winning play Finist the Bright Falcon. According to the writers, they staged the play to prevent terrorism. Berkovich was also vocal against Russia’s war in Ukraine, and wrote poetry on Facebook. Writer Aleksandr Byvshev was sentenced to seven years in prison, which was reduced by two months on appeal, for a four-line poem posted on Facebook about Russia’s war in Ukraine. He was convicted of “incitement to terrorism” and dissemination of “false news” about the Russian army. 

August 2024 saw the release of columnist Vladimir Kara-Murza, book editor and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, and artist and author Alexandra Skochilenko, alongside American journalist Evan Gershkovich, in a prisoner swap. Since their release, Skochilenko, Kurmasheva, and Kara-Murza have all spoken publicly about their deprivation of human rights in prison and readjusting to life. In the weeks before the August 1 exchange in Ankara, the Russian government handed down prison sentences of 6.5 years to Kurmasheva and 16 years to Gershkovich. Writers exiled from Russia still faced threats due to their writing and expression. On July 15, 2024 writer and journalist Masha Gessen was sentenced to eight years in prison in absentia. Journalist Mikhail Zygar, also in exile, was sentenced to 8.5 years in prison in absentia a week later. PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Honoree Vlasyslav Yesypenko and Nika Novak, both journalists with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, remain imprisoned in Russian-occupied Crimea and in Russia. Support for their releases is now impacted by the defunding of USAGM, which provided essential support and services to independent voices in the region.

---

Türkiye

Türkiye’s numbers increased from last year’s Index, jumping from 14 to 18 writers, as authorities cracked down on free expression and journalism on many different fronts over the course of the year. Turkish authorities weaponized broad anti-terror laws against journalists to accuse them of PKK membership and targeted them for arbitrary arrests. In 2024, the Turkish government also furthered its specific threats of continued harassment against writers, weaponizing ongoing trials and legal charges, and dragging out cases and re-trials for years.

In 2024, Türkiye saw an increasingly repressive crackdown on Kurdish writers and columnists. On February 27, 2024, columnist Oktay Candemir was arrested and detained for “financing terrorism” due to his articles at the pro-Kurdish news website Nupel. Candemir, who has been prosecuted 25 times in the last two years, was also investigated for “insulting a public official.” Months later, in December, Candemir was detained again after two Kurdish journalists were killed in a Turkish drone strike. On November 26, 2024, Bianet reporter and columnist Tuğçe Yılmaz was arrested and interrogated regarding her work on social media and her journalism, particularly focusing her time as a columnist for Yeni Özgür Politika, a pro-Kurdish paper based in Istanbul. She was released three days later, after police accused her of “terror propaganda” and “membership in a terrorist organization” for her work at the paper. Meanwhile, the attacks on Kurdish writers in Türkiye strengthened, as authorities weaponized broad anti-terror laws against journalists to accuse them of PKK membership and targeted them for arbitrary arrests and interrogations—Kurdish columnists like Mehmet Sahin continue to be tried for arbitrary arrests dating as far back as 2022. 

This repression has extended beyond columnists and print journalists. A sentence for documentary filmmakers Cayan Demirel and Erugrul Mavioglu was upheld in April, after they were charged with “propaganda for a terrorist organization” following the release of a film focused on the daily life of three PKK members. On February 7, Bahar Kurt, a member of the activist rock band Grup Yorum, was detained for the fourth time in six years. While in prison, her arm was broken and she was hospitalized. Several of Grup Yorum’s members have faced relentless attack from the Turkish government, and have been targeted for their political writing, their participation in mass protests and university occupations, and their usage of Kurdish lyrics despite the government’s banning of the Kurdish language. Kurt’s bandmate, Ali Araci, has been in prison since 2023, and in 2024, was sentenced to 12 years and nine months in prison. As of March 7, 2025, he is on an indefinite hunger strike in prison. The Turkish government’s subjugation of Kurdish voices goes beyond the repression or persecution of dissident fervor—rather, it is a systematic erasure and de facto criminalization of any expression of Kurdish identity, language, culture, or historical existence.

The government has also continued cracking down on any public statements that are perceived to support Erdoğan’s political or ideological opponents. On October 23, 2024 columnist and online commentator Kazım Güleçyüz was arrested on charges of “terrorist propaganda” after tweeting a condolence message for late Turkish cleric Fethullah Gülen, one of Erdoğan’s long-standing political rivals. He was released two months later, but on March 4, 2025, he was convicted and sentenced to a year and three months in prison. Publisher and civil society leader Mehmet Osman Kavala is still serving a life sentence that was upheld on appeal in September 2023. 2024 also saw an uptick in transnational repression in relation to Turkish writers and dissidents. The Turkish government sought feminist writer Pınar Selek’s extradition from France in early 2024, and today, she is still the subject of an international arrest warrant. Her trial has been postponed time and time again, most recently to April 2025. Selek is not the only exiled Turkish writer subjected to continued harassment by the Turkish government. At least seven others who fled Türkiye to escape prosecution for exercising their free expression rights, are currently being targeted beyond the country’s borders, including Ahmet Dönmez who was assaulted in Sweden. Before the attack, he had tweeted that he was receiving death threats after writing about government corruption. Deniz Yücel, who is currently exiled in Germany was charged in absentia, including for “insulting the president.” The court hearings for these charges continue to be adjourned, leaving him in legal limbo. This trend reflects a broader, systematic pattern of transnational repression aimed at silencing independent thought and critical expression. 

---

Belarus

During 2024, the Belarusian government continued to repress free expression rights in the country, with authorities holding 15 writers in jail in 2024, a small decline from 16 in 2023. Belarus has held 10 of the 15 writers behind bars since at least 2021, showing how the crackdown on dissent, literature, and creativity that followed the illegitimate 2020 presidential election of Aleksander Lukashenka continues to restrict the space for free expression in 2024. Authorities misuse overbroad laws against “extremism” to prosecute writers under the pretense of protecting Belarus’s national security from “incitement” of hatred or hostility. By continuing to write and publish in exile, writers in Belarus resist violations of linguistic and cultural rights from their own government, which favors Russian language.

In several cases, writers who diverge from the Belarusian government’s official historical and cultural narrative or engage in writing for social change have been jailed. Historian and author Ihar Melnikov was arrested in 2024 on the charge of “collaborating with an extremist organization” then sentenced to four years in a penal colony, reportedly for giving an interview to Euroradio while traveling to Poland. He has written several books on Western Belarus’ history. Nasha Niva reported that he was working on a book at the time of his detention; it was never published. Writer and philosopher Uladzimir Matskevich continued to serve his five-year sentence on multiple charges, including “leading an extremist organization,” in 2024. Matskevich is well-known for his writings on human rights and social change in Belarus and for co-founding the “Flying University,” which focuses on developing critical thinking skills and implementing them practically. In October 2024, United Nations experts warned that the 68-year-old philosopher’s health had dramatically worsened in prison. Poet Aleh Kacapaǔ, detained in 2023, is also serving a two-and-a-half year sentence in a penal colony for “extremism.” Little is known about the reason for his imprisonment. Kacapaǔ is the author of a poetry collection and published his works in magazines. PEN Belarus notes he was engaged in the popularization of Belarusian history and culture since at least the 1990s.

Some writers are serving harsh prison sentences on spurious charges of “inciting hatred” or even “treason,” while their writings are deemed “extremist” by the government and subsequently banned. Journalist and writer Katsiaryna Andreyeva is serving eight years and three months in a penal colony on bogus charges of “treason.” Her book Belarusian Donbas, co-authored with her husband Ihar Iljaš, was deemed “extremist” and banned in 2021. The book detailed the role of Belarusian citizens and organizations in Donbas, eastern Ukraine. Blogger Eduard Palchys founded 1863x.com, a website for historical and social commentary where he wrote under the pen name Jhon Silver, and ran a Telegram channel. He is serving more than 13 years in prison on multiple charges, including “inciting hatred” and calling for actions “aimed at causing damage to the national security of Belarus.” His Telegram channel was deemed “extremist” and his trial was held behind closed doors to, according to Belarusian authorities, prevent the spread of extremist materials. Further, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Ihar Losik remains imprisoned on charges of “organization of mass riots” and “incitement to hatred,” and his release will be impacted by the defunding of USAGM.

PEN Belarus recorded at least 1,348 violations of cultural rights and human rights of cultural figures during 2024. One of the most common violations documented was the designation of cultural materials as “extremist.” In addition to the targeting of individual writers in the country, the Belarusian government imposes censorship to control public narrative and culture by closing independent publishing houses, forcing the liquidation of literature and language non-profit organizations, and even targeting Belarusian writers in exile. For example, in October 2024, publisher and writer Andrey Yanushkevich’s bookselling website Knihaŭka was blocked in Belarus. Yanushkevich had been jailed in 2022 and fled to Warsaw to continue his work of publishing books translated into Belarusian, a language that has been discriminated against in Belarus as the state favors Russian language and culture.

---

Egypt

Egypt re-entered the Top 10 in 2024, rising from 11th place the previous year. The number of imprisoned writers nearly doubled, reaching 10—with six newly detained, four of whom have never previously been jailed. This surge reflects a renewed and systematic crackdown on public dissent, as authorities continue to deploy repressive tactics to silence journalists, bloggers, activists, and literary figures alike.

Among those targeted was Ashraf Omar, a cartoonist and translator known for his work with independent outlets like Al-Manassa and Mada Masr. He was arrested in July 2024 for satirical drawings criticizing Egypt’s economic policies. Omar remains in detention without trial, held on trumped-up national security charges, a tactic frequently used to stifle political commentary under the guise of protecting public order. In the same month, columnist Khaled Mamdouh was arrested following a raid on his home and forcibly disappeared for six days. He later appeared before the Supreme State Security Prosecution, facing sweeping, specious charges of “joining a terrorist group with knowledge of its objectives,” “financing a terrorist group,” and “publishing false news harmful to national security,” a constellation of charges routinely leveled against critical voices.

The state’s reliance on prolonged, arbitrary detention remains central to its repressive machinery. Blogger Alaa Abd El Fattah and poet Galal El-Behairy are emblematic of this strategy. Although Abd El Fattah, a dual Egyptian-British citizen, officially completed his sentence on September 29, 2024, he continues to be unlawfully detained and denied access to British consular visits. In response, his mother, prominent academic and human rights defender Laila Soueif, began an open-ended hunger strike to protest his continued detention. El-Behairy, likewise, remains behind bars despite having served his entire sentence and exceeding the legal maximum limit for pre-trial detention on new charges in September 2023.

Egypt sustains a climate of fear through relentless judicial harassment, smear campaigns, threats, physical violence, and travel bans. Poet and activist Ahmed Douma, released in August 2023, now lives under a de facto travel ban and has faced repeated physical assaults and intimidation. These examples highlight Egypt’s escalating violations and complete disregard for its own rule of law, as part of a broader effort to silence the country’s most courageous literary voices.

---

Myanmar

Although the overall environment for free expression and human rights in Myanmar remained grim in the fourth year following the February 2021 coup, the number of imprisoned writers decreased further in 2024 to 10, placing Myanmar in ninth place in the list of Top 10 countries of concern. Although journalists continue to be regularly arrested and sentenced, there were few new arrests for writers during the year, and five were released.

Free expression remains tightly controlled as the military continues to restrict news and information channels; limit rights of assembly and association; and arrest, detain, and prosecute influential voices in both the political and cultural realms, as well as dozens of journalists. Myanmar’s restrictive laws—including sections of the penal code covering false news, incitement, and hate speech; national security laws and the Unlawful Associations Act; and laws covering online communications—have been used to charge and sentence a broad range of dissenting voices, including writers and public intellectuals, which has chilled expression and the ability to write freely. Writers, intellectuals, and other creative artists have played a key role in voicing support for the broad-based opposition movement, and therefore remain at risk of being targeted for arrest and legal charges. Hundreds of writers, journalists, artists, activists, and public intellectuals, including many prominent or influential individuals, currently either operate from hiding within Myanmar, or have fled into exile in neighboring countries or further afield for their own safety and to avoid almost-certain arrest.

Despite the continued decline in the number of imprisoned writers, new cases continued to be reported, and lengthy sentences have been handed down to individual writers, journalists, and creative artists who had been detained in the past several years. Most commonly, writers are targeted for covering subjects such as military operations and human rights abuses in conflict zones, corruption, political developments, or official policies. Wai Moe Naing, a writer and activist also known as Monywa Panda, was arrested in April 2021, and later found guilty of multiple counts of incitement; additional convictions on rioting and treason in 2023 and murder charges in May 2024 have resulted in a combined sentence of 74 years. The pioneering screenwriter and filmmaker Shin Daewe was arrested by the military in October 2023 at a bus terminal in Yangon after they discovered a drone in her luggage, which she intended to use to make a film. Through her work with Radio Free Asia (RFA), Shin Daewe used her platform to expose the harsh realities of life under Myanmar’s military regime. On January 10, 2024, she was sentenced to life imprisonment under the Counterterrorism Law, accused of funding and aiding terrorists; however, in January 2025, her sentence was reduced to 15 years during a broader amnesty during the 77th anniversary of Myanmar’s independence from British colonial rule. Similarly, columnist and VOA contributor Sithu Aung Myint was arrested in August 2021 on charges of incitement and defaming the armed forces, and was sentenced to three years of hard labor in October 2022. These cases highlight the growing risks to journalists and writers in Myanmar, especially as the defunding of USAGM threatens the essential support for organizations like RFA and VOA, which have been key platforms for independent writing and the protection of writers at risk.

---

Other countries of concern

Other key countries of concern—which each jailed seven writers during 2024—are Cuba, Eritrea, and Morocco. 

In 2024, in addition to the seven writers held in detention in Cuba, a number of other cases of harassment were reported, which often took the form of multiple instances of brief arrests, detention, and interrogations. The Cuban government has long targeted singer/songwriters and musicians like Denis Solís González and Didier Almagro Toledo. In 2024, musician Marco Antonio Pintueles, released a song which criticized state censorship and the economic crisis in Cuba while serving his 12-year sentence for “sedition” charges related to his involvement in a peaceful protest. After the release of the new song, he was held incommunicado for six days. Gorki Aguila, a punk rock musician and songwriter, was detained at the airport in Havana and held for over 24 hours on charges of “contempt.” Today, many Cuban dissidents and former political prisoners are living in exile. 

The seven writers held in Eritrea in 2024 represent the longest detentions of writers globally. Most have been held without trial for over 20 years, having been arbitrarily imprisoned in 2001 following a series of crackdowns on independent and foreign media as well as all forms of dissenting speech. Dawit Isaak, a dual citizen of Eritrea and Sweden, was arrested in 2001 following the media crackdown. He founded Eritrea’s first independent weekly newspaper, Setit. On July 21, 2022 the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention filed a complaint, calling on the Eritrean government to provide information about Isaak’s 20-year-long detention. Isaak is the longest-detained journalist in the world. 

In July 2024, hundreds of journalists were released in Morocco after a mass royal pardon from King Mohamed VI on the occasion of his 25th anniversary on the throne. However, in the first half of 2024, Morocco still held seven writers in detention, with two additional cases since 2023.  Online commentator Yassin Benchekroun, also known as “Yassin the Revolutionary,” was first arrested in 2023 on charges of “insulting legally organized and other constitutional institutions and disrespecting judicial decisions” after several Facebook posts in which he criticized the King and other government security services. Today, he is still imprisoned. Activist Youssef El-Hireche was arrested in March 2024 and later sentenced to 18 months in prison on various defamation charges related to Facebook posts, before being released as part of the royal pardon. Other pardoned writers—including online commentators and columnists Taoufik Bouachrine, Soulaiman Raissouni, and Omar Radi— have all experienced continued harassment, threats, and smear campaigns after their releases from prison, restricting their ability to continue their work or live freely within society. Another striking example is that of historian and journalist Maati Monjib, who, four years after his release, remains under an ongoing travel ban.

---

Trend Analysis

Over the past six years of producing the Writers at Risk Database and Freedom to Write Index, the trend is clear: writers are being jailed at a steadily increasing rate over that time period, from 238 cases counted in 2019 to 375 in 2024. This time span has also seen significant negative political developments in a number of key countries currently included in our Top 10 jailers of writers that have had an outsized impact on the climate for free expression and have resulted in sharp upticks in writers being jailed, most notably: the flawed August 2020 presidential election and widespread protest movement in Belarus, the February 2021 coup and anti-military civil disobedience movement in Myanmar, the “Woman, Life, Freedom” demonstrations that erupted following the custodial death of Mahsa (Jina) Amini in the fall of 2022 in Iran, the Russian-instigated war in Ukraine which began in February 2022, and Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.  

The trend lines track evenly for both our initially reported numbers and for the final numbers, with final numbers accounting for cases added retroactively in the years following their original year of arrest. These are cases which may not come to light or receive public attention immediately, and are likely to occur in the most politically repressive countries, where the media and information environment is severely restricted, where family members of a jailed writer are initially hesitant to speak publicly about a case to the media due to fear of repercussions or hope that staying quiet may lead to a relative’s release, or where there is little in the public record about a case (for example, a writer is being detained incommunicado and/or without published charges). Thus, the largest numbers of cases added retroactively over the past six years have come from China (particularly the Xinjiang region) and Saudi Arabia.

---

Conclusion and Recommendations

Conclusion

As this report shows, the importance of writers has never been more pronounced. They labor against the silence imposed by state repression, documenting the violence of authoritarian practices and excavating the buried truths of history. Their work not only challenges the narratives of power but also reaffirms the fundamental right to free expression—a cornerstone of democracy and human rights. In times of rapid political change, the role of writers in defending liberty becomes ever more critical.

Recent developments in the United States underscore the precarious nature of freedom of expression. The suppression of free expression has taken on an especially troubling dimension on college campuses where Palestinian and pro-Palestinian voices are being silenced, including via attempts to deport student activists, limiting discourse on issues of the war in Gaza and human rights. The arrests and continued detention of Mahmoud Khalil, Mohsen Mahdawi, and Rumeysa Öztürk (who co-authored an opinion piece about Gaza for her campus newspaper) —it would appear purely on the grounds of speech protected by the U.S. Constitution—not only undermines academic freedom but also stifles the critical exchange of ideas.  

The impact of the defunding of the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) is equally significant. Its international broadcasts have not only played a vital role in keeping the public informed in extremely closed media environments but have also fostered a culture of accountability by challenging misinformation and promoting transparency. In an era where information can be both weaponized and suppressed, the ability to access independent, fact-based reporting stands as a critical defense against state-controlled narratives. In the other direction, the reporting by outlets such as Radio Free Asia, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and Voice of America on human rights violations in information black holes is often the only source of news for the global community when a writer in Xinjiang is detained, a blogger in Vietnam is sentenced for their expression, or a journalist in Crimea is jailed.

The defunding of USAGM also puts individual writers and journalists who wrote about sensitive issues from the U.S. at risk, as they now face uncertainty over their work status and delays in immigration processes, while others remain trapped in their home countries, targeted by state repression due to their association with USAGM-funded entities. Currently, at least eleven USAGM-funded staffers are imprisoned across the globe: five in Vietnam, two by Russia, one in Belarus, one in Azerbaijan, and two in Myanmar. 

The decimation of USAID and the erosion of State Department-funded cultural and other programs have also had devastating effects on writers, activists, artists, and independent media across the globe. These initiatives have long served as lifelines for individuals and institutions working in repressive environments, offering not only resources but also protection and visibility. As funding dries up or is redirected, local organizations have been left vulnerable, creative communities are fractured, and vital cultural and journalistic infrastructure has begun to erode. This retrenchment underscores the urgent need to rebuild and reinforce these programs to ensure that global free expression does not become a casualty of shifting political tides.

In these transformative times, it is essential that governments, civil society, and stakeholders recognize that the incarceration or silencing of a writer represents a broader assault on the freedoms of all citizens. Strengthened protections for free expression are not just the responsibility of legal institutions—they are imperative for the protection of democracy and human rights.

Recommendations

Top 10 Countries of Concern

The Top 10 countries jailing writers should:

• Immediately and unconditionally release all writers in detention for their speech, including those in pre-trial and administrative detention.
• Drop charges and end prosecutions of writers related to their free expression rights.
• Ensure writers in detention are held in conditions consistent with international human rights standards, including access to their family, legal representation and health care.
• Lift legislative and other restrictions on free expression that are not consistent with international human rights laws and standards.
• In cases where restrictions are imposed to protect national security and public order, ensure that the least intrusive restrictions are applied to realize those goals.

National governments that support global free expression

Governments that explicitly support free expression as a human right should actively seek ways to protect individual writers in countries where free expression is at risk, and ensure their voices can be heard. Governments should:

• Support the creation of an international normative framework that recognizes the unique role that writers play in society preserving culture and defending free expression, and that advances their security and protection and freedom to write.
• Support efforts to end impunity for human rights violations and crimes against writers exercising their free expression by calling for and supporting diligent and impartial investigations, speaking out about due process violations, and encouraging domestic efforts to hold perpetrators accountable.
• During bilateral discussions with countries that have imprisoned writers for exercising their right to free expression, actively advocate for their immediate release. Emphasize the importance of ensuring these individuals receive adequate medical care, fair legal representation, and due process in accordance with international human rights standards.
• Monitor criminal trials and other judicial and administrative proceedings against writers and speak out publicly about due process violations and unjust verdicts.
• Seek information about writers at risk from independent sources, including family members, legal representatives, and civil society, in order to advocate on their behalf.
• Where possible, provide financial and other forms of assistance directly to writers at risk and/or to civil society organizations that assist them. Comprehensive and flexible support should include:
  • The creation and expediting of special visas procedures or visa waivers that allow writers fleeing persecution to safely enter and legally remain in countries where they are safer, and procedures to extend such visas or issue special travel documents in cases where writers need to extend their exile due to ongoing risks at home.
  • Emergency and long term financial support that is sufficient to allow writers to protect themselves from persecution and to continue to write.
• Recognize the diversity of writers and ensure that measures to protect and support them take into account gender, sexual orientation, religion, language, national origin, race/ethnicity, and other forms of discrimination that may affect issues of access and put individuals at greater risk.

These governments should also regularly press repressive states to:

• Repeal laws that limit free expression, including those that criminalize speech and writing, and those that restrict the space for independent media and human rights organizations —e.g., “foreign agents” laws and those that undermine free and open access to the internet.
• Stop the growing practice of transnational repression, prosecute foreign governments that target writers on their own country’s soil and ensure the safety of writers in exile in their countries who may be at risk of transnational repression.
• Refrain from enacting “false” news and cybercrimes laws that can be used to target writers and undermine free expression.
• Refrain from using counterterrorism, public security, and similar laws, to prosecute writers or the exercise of free expression.
• Issue standing invitations to UN Special Procedures and actively facilitate visits from those whose mandates intersect with free expression.

Donors

Donors, whether they are private institutions or governments, have enormous power to promote free expression and protect writers, including by publicly condemning attacks against free expression and writers. They should:

• Support the translation and publication of persecuted writers’ work.
• Provide financial support for emergency assistance funds, residency and fellowship grants, and project awards.
• Provide financial support to civil society organizations that work with writers and/or advocate for free expression.
• Provide financial support for independent local and diaspora media.

United Nations Special Procedures

Special Procedures, as independent human rights experts, can use their roles to call attention to violations of free expression and the particular role that writers play in advancing free expression and the risks they face to do so. They should:

• Monitor and report to the UN Human Rights Council on violations of free expression that intersect with their mandate, and follow up with the Council if it fails to act on areas of concern.
• Use their public platforms and closed door high-level meetings to call for the immediate release of writers in prison and the end of any persecution and harassment.
• If invited on a country visit, ensure that independent civil society experts, academics, and human rights activists are consulted and publicly push back if necessary on government efforts to control access.

UN entities should monitor and call out instances of retaliation against human rights defenders and others who cooperate with the special procedures and other UN mechanisms.

---

Methodology

About the Freedom to Write Index and the Writers at Risk Database

The 2024 Freedom to Write Index is a count of the writers who were held in prison or detention during 2024 because of their writing or for otherwise exercising their freedom of expression. Individuals must have spent at least 48 hours behind bars in a single instance of detention between January 1 and December 31, 2024. We define imprisonment when an individual is serving a sentence following a conviction, while detention is defined as individuals held in custody pending charges, or those held in pre-trial or administrative detention.

The cases included in the Index are drawn from PEN America’s Writers at Risk Database. The Index and Database also draw from PEN International’s Case Lists which reflect input from PEN Centers around the world. We also draw from press reports; information received directly and indirectly from the families, lawyers, and colleagues of those in prison; and data from other human rights, press freedom, academic freedom, and free expression organizations. The methodology behind the Index is explained in greater detail here.

Individuals in the Index and Database primarily write literature, poetry, or other creative writing; essays, nonfiction or academic writing; or opinion/analysis articles; or they provide online commentary. Journalists are included if they are also opinion writers or columnists. Scholars and activists are included where they also fall into one of the categories above or are opinion writers or columnists. 

Speech is vetted in line with PEN International’s approach: “The Writers in Prison Committee works on behalf of those who are detained or otherwise persecuted for their opinions expressed in writing, including writers who are under attack for their political activities or for exercising their profession, provided that they did not use violence or advocate violence and racial hatred.” In practice, we also include hatred against ethnic or religious groups, LGBT groups, and gender in this caveat. This test means that we include writers in the Index and Database whose speech is offensive and inappropriate, but exclude writers who advocate violence or hatred. We make this determination by assessing as much written content as we are able to source and follow as far as is possible the principles set out in the Rabat Plan of Action. We assess this on a case by case basis.

The compiling of the data for the Index is an ongoing process and PEN America adds cases retrospectively. Forty-five cases were added retrospectively to the 2023 Index. These cases included individuals who were imprisoned in or before 2023, but whose imprisonment only became known to PEN America while we were compiling the data for the 2024 Index. While such cases occurred in 18 countries, most were found in two countries, China and Saudi Arabia.

The Freedom to Write Index is an essential component of PEN America’s long-standing Writers at Risk Program, which encompasses support for and advocacy on behalf of writers under threat around the world. Another flagship component of PEN America’s year-round advocacy is the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award, given annually to an imprisoned writer targeted for exercising their freedom of expression. Of the 54 jailed writers who have received the Freedom to Write Award from 1987 to 2023, 46 have been released due in part to the global attention and pressure the award generates.

For more details, please see our full methodology.

---

Acknowledgements

The Freedom to Write Index report was written by PEN America staff members: Karin Deutsch Karlekar, Hanna Khosravi, Asma Laouira, and Anh-Thu Vo. Asma Laouira is the manager of the Writers at Risk Database and prepared the data on writers in prison and at risk for publication.  

The report was edited by Liesl Gerntholtz, Managing Director of the PEN/Barbey Freedom To Write Center. Summer Lopez, Interim Co-CEO and Chief Program Officer, Free Expression; Eileen Hershenov, Deputy CEO and Chief Legal Officer; and Kristen Shahverdian, Program Director, Campus Free Speech, provided essential review and guidance. 

PEN/Barbey Freedom To Write Center interns, fellows, and consultants, including Amen Dilawar, BH, KA, Kyla Forde, NS, and ZB, provided essential support with research, data analysis, drafting, references, and fact-checking throughout the year.

PEN America is deeply grateful to PEN International—both the Secretariat and the Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC)—for its collaboration on this project. PEN America also thanks the Edwin Barbey Charitable Trust for their generous support.