Visitors: 353The Writers in Prison Committee of PEN International condemns the five- year sentence handed down on 14 February 2011 to blogger, poet and high school student Tal Al-Mallouhi on the charge of “divulging information to a foreign state”. No evidence has been provided for the charge against her, and PEN International believes that Al-Mallouhi […]
Visitors: 496The Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of PEN International is pleased to note that the writer and journalist Héctor Fernando Maseda Gutiérrez was freed on 12 February 2011, after almost eight years in prison. Unlike the 18 others freed last year, who were all exiled to Spain as a precondition of their release, Maseda […]
Visitors: 462The Writers in Prison Committee of PEN International is seriously concerned about the continuous detention of journalist ‘Ali al-‘Abdullah, whose two-and-a-half year sentence for his dissident writings and peaceful opposition activities expired in June 2010. Abdullah now faces new charges of ‘disseminating false information’ for an article he wrote in prison. He appeared before […]
Visitors: 366Maria Amelie, Russian-born writer and asylum seeker, was arrested and faces deportation from Norway after drawing attention to her situation in her book, Illegally Norwegian. The Norwegian PEN Centre has taken up her case and has issued the following Action Alert. Oslo, 13. January 2011 Writer detained, faces deportation On the evening of Wednesday […]
Visitors: 382Pinar Selek, writer, sociologist and founder of the Amargi Women’s Solidarity Cooperative, will be tried in Istanbul on 9 February 2011, on charges of which she has already been acquitted twice. If she is found guilty, she faces 36 years in prison. The Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of PEN International is seriously concerned […]
Visitors: 348Recent events following the flawed presidential elections in Belarus have seen the continued detention, maltreatment and impending prosecution of a number of writers and journalists, including members of the Belarus PEN Centre. In response to this situation, the President of PEN International, John Ralston Saul, PEN’s International Secretary, Hori Takeaki, and the Chair of […]
Visitors: 34331 January, 2011-In the wake of the welcome and peaceful move towards democracy in Tunisia, PEN International notes with great concern the violent response to antigovernment protests elsewhere in the region, notably Egypt, but also in Yemen. “PEN International warmly welcomes the democratic developments in Tunisia,” said John Ralston Saul, President of PEN International. […]
Visitors: 412The Writers in Prison Committee of PEN International (WiPC) protests the continuing detention of Jean-Claude Kavumbagu, editor of the online press agency Net Press, who was arrested on 17 July 2010. He is charged with treason on the basis of an article in which he suggested that the Burundian security forces would not be […]
Visitors: 343PEN International’s Writers in Prison Committee is deeply concerned about the one-year prison sentence handed down to Kuwaiti writer, journalist and blogger Mohammed Abdulqader al-Jassem on 22 November 2010 for an article he wrote on his blog, Al-Mizan, criticising the country’s Prime Minister. PEN International considers that he is targeted solely for the peaceful […]
Visitors: 341Whenever I think of this year, the image that comes to mind is that banner of 50 emblematic cases on the pages of Because Writers Speak Their Minds. We had no way of knowing, when we started to build that list a year ago, that it was not only a rich collection of historical […]
Visitors: 354LONDON, 15 November 2010 – The Writers in Prison Committee of PEN International is delighted at news that Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the Burmese National League for Democracy, has been released from house arrest. “The global community of writers within PEN International joyfully welcomes Aung San Suu Kyi as she appears from […]
Visitors: 353LONDON, 15 November 2010-The Writers in Prison Committee of PEN International commemorates its fiftieth year in 2010, on the International Day of the Imprisoned Writer, and pays tribute to 41 writers around the world who have been killed in the last year. “The Writers in Prison Committee has played a leading role in documenting […]
Visitors: 372The Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of PEN International is seriously concerned about reports that leading journalist and human rights activist Emadeddin Baghi has been returned to prison despite severe health problems. Baghi was sentenced to six years in prison in September 2010 on charges relating to an interview he gave to the BBC’s […]
Visitors: 31613 September 2010 Tens of thousands of detainees held without trial in Iraq, many of whom were recently transferred from US custody, remain at risk of torture and other forms of ill-treatment, Amnesty International said in a new report launched today. NEW ORDER, SAME ABUSES: Unlawful detentions and torture in Iraq details thousands of […]
Visitors: 3539 September 2010 Amnesty International has condemned a bomb attack today that left at least 16 civilians dead and dozens injured in the Russian republic of North Ossetia-Alania.More than 70 people are reported to have been hospitalized, with at least 10 in a critical condition, after a car bomb exploded in Vladikavkaz, capital of […]
Visitors: 4002 September 2010 Amnesty International is urging the Slovak government to immediately end the segregation of Romani children in the country’s education system. This practice leaves thousands of Romani pupils in substandard education in schools and classes for pupils with “mild mental disabilities” or ethnically segregated mainstream schools and classes.In a briefing to the […]
Visitors: 336EU EU Aid Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva told MEPs in the Development Committee that the coming weeks could see the situation worsen in Pakistan owing to the weather. MEPs told the Commissioner that the EU’s aid response to the devastating flooding needs to be more coordinated and visible on the ground. Having just returned from […]
Visitors: 381New York Governments meeting at the United Nations this week to discuss implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) should focus on effective strategies and good practices that benefit persons with disabilities, Human Rights Watch said today. The convention went into effect two years ago. “If governments are serious […]
Visitors: 346USA Decisions by state and local officials in several US states to uphold the building of mosques and Muslim community centers despite protests is an important affirmation of the right to freedom of religion enshrined in international human rights law as well as the US Constitution, Human Rights Watch said today. Such projects are […]
Visitors: 397GRI Exclusive Dantewada, Chhattisgarh Tribals planted more than 80,000 saplings (young trees) in Dantewada, Bastar region of the Chhattisgarh State without any financial support by government or non-government funding agencies. Koya Wes Social Institute, an voluntary social organization, formed by the local tribal youths has been motivating local tribal communities for trees plantation. For […]
Visitors: 346EU Moldova is set to receive an EU grant of up to €90 million to help it through the financial crisis, following a vote at Parliament’s Committee on International Trade on Monday. Members of the committee overwhelmingly backed plans to provide the funds when they approved a report by by Iuliu Winkler (EPP, RO) […]
Visitors: 382Kampala Women with disabilities in northern Uganda experience ongoing discrimination and sexual and gender-based violence, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Many are unable to gain access to basic services, including health care and justice, and they have been largely ignored in post-conflict reconstruction efforts. The 73-page report, “‘As If We […]
Visitors: 1,134CUBA The Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of International PEN is delighted at the news of the release of three more Cuban journalists imprisoned since 2003. Fabio Prieto Llorente and Juan Carlos Herrera Acosta touched down in Madrid on 19 August 2010 while Juan Adolfo Fernández Saínz (pictured below) arrived the next day, all […]
Visitors: 611Moscow Russia should put an end to local rules forcing women in Chechnya to observe an Islamic dress code, Human Rights Watch said today. Since the start of Ramadan in mid-August, Human Rights Watch has received numerous reports from Chechnya about women being harassed in the streets of Grozny, the republic’s capital, for not […]
Visitors: 494EU After the worst monsoon floods in living memory, Pakistan is facing a humanitarian disaster on a massive and unimaginable scale. Kristalina Georgieva, European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, left for Islamabad to meet with the authorities and to visit some of the stricken areas. As the full scope and […]