PEN Canada envisions a world where
writers are free to write,
readers are free to read,
and freedom of expression prevails
The writer and blogger Rashad Ramazanov is PEN Canada’s Empty Chair at the 38th International Festival of Authors (IFOA).
The savage murder of an editor of Bangladesh’s only LGBT magazine in Dhaka is another tragic example of the government’s gross failure to protect intellectuals, activists and writers.
The government of Bangladesh is failing in its obligation to protect secular writers and publishers after the murder of Faisal Arefin Dipan.
Slain Bangladeshi-American author and blogger Avijit Roy is PEN Canada’s Empty Chair at the 36th International Festival of Authors (IFOA). Roy was murdered by religious extremists in Dhaka, Bangladesh in February 2015.
Four secular bloggers have been murdered in the first six months of 2015. The following appeal for protection appeared on Mukto-Mona (“Free Thought”) on August 19, 2015.
PEN International and PEN Canada welcomed the release of Vietnamese blogger Ta Phong Tan on 19 September 2015.
The murder of Bangladeshi blogger Niloy Chakrabarti is a harrowing reminder of the need for strengthened protection for writers.
In light of the murder of Bangladeshi writer, editor, and blogger Ananta Bijoy Das, PEN calls on the Bangladeshi authorities to swiftly and impartially investigate his death and ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice.
Vietnamese blogger Dieu Cay will receive the One Humanity Award at PEN Canada’s annual benefit at the 34th International Festival of Authors (IFOA) on October 24, 2013.
Finding the Words: Writers on Inspiration, Desire, War, Celebrity, Exile, and Breaking the Rules