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Writers in Prison Committee

PEN International was established in 1921 as a club for writers around the globe to meet and exchange ideas wherever they are in the world, yet it soon became clear that essential to such literary exchange was the right to freedom of expression. Its first protest against the imprisonment of a writer was in 1935 when PEN appealed for the release of Haitian author, Jacques Roumain, during one of his frequent stints in prison. 

Comité des écrivains en prison

Lorsque PEN International a été créé en 1921, l’organisation visait à permettre aux écrivains du monde entier de se rencontrer et d’échanger des idées où qu’ils se trouvent dans le monde ; or, il est vite devenu évident que le droit à la liberté d’expression était essentiel à ces échanges littéraires. C’est en 1935 que PEN international a émis sa première protestation contre l’emprisonnement d’un écrivain, demandant la libération de l’auteur haïtien Jacques Roumain, qui effectuait alors l’un de ses fréquents séjours en prison.

Comité de Escritores en Prision

PEN Internacional se fundó en 1921 como un club para que los escritores de todo el mundo se reunieran e intercambiaran ideas desde cualquier parte, pero pronto quedó claro que el derecho a la libertad de expresión era esencial para dicho intercambio literario. Su primera protesta contra el encarcelamiento de un escritor se produjo en 1935, cuando PEN pidió la liberación del autor haitiano Jacques Roumain durante una de sus frecuentes estancias en prisión.

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Selection from the Writers in Prison Committee

1 Orhan Pamuk and Sara Whyatt

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2 Protest for Liu Xiaobo in Oslo

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3 7th WiPC meeting in Glasgow

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4 Clark and Wills in Istanbul

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5 Committee in Bruges

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6 WiPC conference in Kathmandu

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7 Charlie Hebdo tribute

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8 Recital at the 1st WiPC conference

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9 Salil Tripathi and Shahidul Alam

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10 Hamid’s tribute to Chenjerai Hove

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11 “Freedom of Expression in Turkey” conference

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12 WiPC meeting in Barcelona, 2004

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13 Eide, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, and Torner

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1 PEN Case (1996): Taslima Nasrin – Bangladesh, Exiled
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2 PEN Case (1963): Josef Brodsky – USSR, Arrested/Exiled
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3 PEN Case (1967): Ángel Cuadra – Cuba, Imprisoned
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4 PEN Case (2013): Dina Meza – Honduras, A life under threat
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5 PEN Case (1983): Mansur Rajih – Yemen, Imprisoned
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6 PEN Case (1993): Tahar Djaout – Algeria, Murdered
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7 PEN Case (1960): Musine Kokalari – Albania, Incarcerated
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8 PEN Case (1961): Henri Alleg – France/Algeria, Tortured
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9 PEN Case (1962): Mochtar Lubis – Indonesia, Imprisoned
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10 PEN Case (1968): Rajat Neogy – Uganda, Imprisoned
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11 PEN Case (1973): Nien Cheng – China, Imprisoned
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12 PEN Case (1995): Ken Saro-Wiwa – Nigeria, Executed
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13 PEN Case (1966): Andrei Sinyavsky & Yuli Daniel – USSR, Imprisoned
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14 PEN Case (1981): Nawal El Saadawi – Egypt, Imprisoned
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15 The PEN International Case List
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16 The 40th Anniversary of the Day of the Imprisoned Writer
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17 PEN Case (1964): Wolfgang Harich – German Democratic Republic, Tried
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18 PEN Case (1978): Georgi Markov – UK/Bulgaria, Murdered
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19 PEN Case (1965): Wole Soyinka – Nigeria, Imprisoned
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20 PEN Case (1980): Alaíde Foppa de Solórzano – Guatemala, Disappeared
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