As every year, on November 15, the Day of the Imprisoned Writer, PEN calls for urgent international action to protect writers and journalists across the globe, who increasingly find themselves targeted for peaceful dissent.
This year, from November 15 – 29 , 2024 , PEN is spotlighting four writers targeted for their peaceful free expression work: Kaciaryna Andrejeva (Belarus), Jimmy Lai (Hong Kong), Jose Rubén Zamora Marroquín (Guatemala), and Alaa Abd El-Fattah (Egypt).
Join us by reading this year’s powerful letters of solidarity, written in support of these courageous voices:
- Viv Groskop to Alaa Abd el-Fattah
- Margaret Atwood to Jimmy Lai
- Gioconda Belli to Jose Rubén Zamora Marroquín
- Olga Tokarczuk to Kaciaryna Andrejeva
- Elif Shafak to Kaciaryna Andrejeva
They are harassed, imprisoned, persecuted. Take action with us to demand justice and freedom for Alaa Abd El-Fattah, Jimmy Lai, Kaciaryna Andrejeva, and José Rubén Zamora Marroquín.
TAKE ACTION
How can you get involved? Whether you send a letter of solidarity to the imprisoned writer, write an appeal to their governments and embassies, or share on social media with #ImprisonedWriter, your voice makes a difference. To help, use these four toolkits:
Alaa Abd El-Fattah
Situation: imprisoned
British-Egyptian writer and activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah remains arbitrarily imprisoned after serving an unjust five-year prison sentence in Egypt on politically motivated charges, in a grossly unfair trial…more.
Jimmy Lai
Situation: imprisoned
Jimmy Lai, a pro-democracy campaigner, writer and newspaper owner has been in solitary confinement since 2020 and now faces prosecution under Hong Kong’s National Security Law. If convicted, he faces a potential life sentence...more.
José Rubén Zamora Marroquín
Situation: house arrest
José Rubén Zamora Marroquín, a leading Guatemalan journalist and founder of elPeriódico, has faced threats, criminalization and arbitrary detention for his investigations into government corruption. Last month, Zamora was placed under house arrest after more than 800 days behind bars. ...more.
Kaciaryna Andrejeva
Situation: imprisoned
Journalist, writer and poet, Kaciaryna Andrejeva (real name Bachvałava) is serving an eight-year prison sentence in Belarus on bogus charges of ‘state treason’…more.
