PEN Canada celebrates literature, defends freedom of expression and aids writers in peril.
One year after Russian president Vladimir Putin launched his invasion and muzzled Russian media, what have we learned from the war against Ukraine and against journalists? Join three Russian journalists who spoke at a CFE panel one year ago to see how they have refused to be silenced. How are Russia’s independent media fighting to expose the truth about the war? What are the challenges as the war heads into its second year?
To mark International Women’s Day 2023, PEN International features the case of Cuban poet and activist María Cristina Garrido Rodríguez, imprisoned since July 2021 for her criticism of the Cuban government, and for participating in the peaceful protests that saw thousands of Cubans taking to the streets around the country and demanding reforms. Take action today to free María Cristina Garrido Rodríguez.
Türkiye: Persisting crackdown on free expression one month since devastating earthquakes March 6, 2023 – Today marks one month since devastating earthquakes struck Türkiye and Syria, resulting in the deaths …
Take Action for Nobel Laureate Ales Bialiatski on International Mother Language Day International Mother Language Day, held every year on February 21, is observed to promote linguistic and cultural diversity, and multilingualism. …
José Rubén Zamora Marroquín is a renowned Guatemalan journalist and founder of three of the most-read newspapers in Guatemala and Central America: Siglo Veintiuno, Nuestro Diario, and elPeriódico.
Server Mustafayev is a Crimean Tatar citizen journalist and human rights defender, founder and coordinator of the grassroots, human rights movement Crimean Solidarity in Russian-occupied Crimea.
Tsitsi Dangarembga is an award-winning Zimbabwean novelist, filmmaker, playwright, activist, and founding member of PEN Zimbabwe.
On September 16, 2022, a young woman from the Kurdish town of Saqez in northwest Iran travelled to Tehran. Shortly after her arrival, she was arrested for wearing an “improper hijab” and later died while in the custody of the “Morality Police.” Her tragic and unjust death sparked a series of protests and her name Zhina (Mahsa) soon became a national symbol of resistance to an oppressive, theocratic and misogynist government.
Narges Mohammadi is an Iranian writer, journalist, human rights defender, and Honorary Member of the Danish, Belgian, Norwegian, and Swedish PEN centres. She is the former Vice-President and spokesperson of the Defenders of Human Rights Center (DHRC), co-winner of the 2013 Oxfam Novib / PEN Award, and winner of the 2011 Per Anger Prize and the 2009 Alexander Langer Award.
PEN Canada was shocked and horrified by the vicious attack on Salman Rushdie at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York State last Friday. Now, a few days later, we are heartened by the positive news as to his condition – on the mend, says his agent — despite wounds that are life-changing and the prospect of a long road to recovery.