The Hong Kong bookseller died on July 2nd, aged 70

PEN Languages of Russia, a new initiative co-founded by Russian writer Sergey Lebedev, aims to support "independent, anti-authoritarian, anti-war literary figures" writing in the many languages indige...

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A new campaign to put down phones and pick up classics

Writers Under Siege: Defying Silence - PEN International Case List 2026

PEN International Case List 2026 launch

Imagine a world where the voices of those with clear demands, expertise and solutions come together to fulfil the promise of the UN Charter. In that world,

‍ ‍ ‘Maria Ressa has shown extraordinary courage in defending independent journalism in the Philippines. The recommendation by the Solicitor General is a significant step toward correcting a case ...

‘ We are witnessing grave challenges to world peace and security, with political leaders utterly failing to uphold international law and actively dismantling the rules-based order. The international c...

‘The imprisonment of Zan Aizong for peacefully commemorating the life of Liu Xiaobo underscores China’s continued use of vague criminal charges to silence independent writers and erase collective memo...

27 February 2026 : Today, on World NGO Day, PEN International celebrates the vital contributions of NGOs across the globe. From defending the right to freedom of expression to responding to humanitar...

YouTube video by Steve Rosenberg

23 February 2026: PEN International has joined a coalition of media freedom and journalist organisations in an open letter calling on the UK Government to urgently secure and sustain funding for the...

English PEN open call: two five-day residencies for writers experiencing displacement to the UK

‘ As the current ASEAN Chair, the Malaysian government has a responsibility to demonstrate its commitment to human rights, including the right to freedom of expression, across the region. Instead, it ...

Lack of response shows security law and harassment by authorities have muzzled ‘critical voices’, say experts * The rise and fall of Jimmy Lai, whose trajectory mirrored that of Hong Kong itself Hong Kong’s once-vibrant media outlets have responded with silence or celebration to the 20-year jail sentence handed down to Jimmy Lai, a pro-democracy media tycoon and critic of the Chinese Communist party. Lai, 78, was sentenced on Monday to 20 years in prison after being convicted of sedition and colluding with foreign forces under Hong Kong’s national security law. The charges were widely seen as being politically motivated and designed to silence one of Hong Kong’s most influential pro-democracy campaigners. Continue reading...

‘Sentencing Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison is an act of profound cruelty. It is a punishment intended not only to silence one man, but to extinguish independent journalism from Hong Kong. Given Jimmy...

“Last month, the Myanmar military attempted to legitimise its rule through a carefully orchestrated electoral process. This so-called election was nothing more than an effort to impose a veneer of leg...

“ When a government turns criticism into an enemy and journalism into a target, it does not only attack those who inform; it deliberately weakens the fundamental rights of society as a whole. ” Burhan...

Rights groups slam Thai authorities' detention and legal proceedings against Australian writer Murray Hunter, after Malaysia's communications regulator submitted a criminal defamation complaint.

‘ As the current ASEAN Chair, the Malaysian government has a responsibility to demonstrate its commitment to human rights, including the right to freedom of expression, across the region. Instead, it ...

“We are horrified to see such a deadly response to people’s legitimate demands for better economic conditions. Iranian authorities have systematically stifled and repressed dissent over the years. We ...

Trump's sweeping decision to withdraw from a host of international cultural organizations has sparked alarm at arts advocacy groups.

“The youth should never believe that history is written only by the victors, or that it can be permanently manipulated through narrative wars.”

15 December 2025: Following today’s unjust guilty verdict handed down to writer and media publisher Jimmy Lai, PEN International and English PEN have joined Hong Kong Watch and over 30 other civ...

“ The guilty verdict handed down to writer and media publisher Jimmy Lai is nothing less than a travesty and a betrayal of Hong Kong’s once vaunted legal system. Jimmy Lai’s selfless commitment to Hon...

“ In advance of the verdict expected to be handed down on Monday, we call on the Hong Kong and Chinese authorities once again to end this injustice by dropping all charges against writer and media pub...

12 December 2025 – Ahead of the fourth anniversary of the sentencing of prominent Vietnamese journalist, writer, and woman human rights defender Pham Doan Trang, an international coalition of non-gove...

Update (4 December 2025) : The Bombay High Court has granted bail to Hany Babu, following his application on the basis of his prolonged detention without trial. Following the completion of formalitie...

27 November 2025: PEN International, PEN Melbourne, PEN Perth and PEN Sydney called on Australian Foreign Minister Senator Penny Wong to urgently intervene in the case of writer Murray Hunter. In a jo...

24 November : Last week, PEN International joined PEN Centres and free press organisations in sending an open letter to Navi Mumbai Police Commissioner Milind Bharambe, calling for an urgent police i...

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2 likes, 0 comments - peninternational on November 21, 2025: "To mark the #DayoftheImprisonedWriter, journalist Cheng Lei shared her powerful story of unjust imprisonment, reflecting on the world’s gr...