Lydia CACHO RIBEIRO
Impunity for the December 2005 arrest and torture of Lydia Cacho Ribeiro continued in 2024. Arrested for alleged defamation in connection with her 2005 book Los Demonios del Edén: el poder detrás…
Mikeas SÁNCHEZ GÓMEZ
Writer, poet and land defender Mikeas Sánchez Gómez was threatened with death on 7 November 2024. Sánchez told PEN International that she filed a complaint, but the Public Prosecutor's Office…
Yohali RESÉNDIZ
On 28 November 2024, the journalist and writer Yohali Reséndiz received a death threat, including a video showing a dead body. Hours later, in a phone call from an unknown…
Balam Rodrigo PÉREZ HERNÁNDEZ
In 2024, poet and migrants rights’ defender Balam Rodrigo Pérez Hernández continued to be subject to death threats, which began in 2018, from criminal groups in the state of Chiapas…
Cesario Alejandro Félix PADILLA FIGUEROA
On 7 May 2024, the Court of Criminal Appeals of Francisco Morazán ordered the final dismissal of charges against Cesario Alejandro Félix Padilla Figueroa and his fellow students Sergio Ulloa and Moisés…
Ivon Montserrat ARITA GUZMÁN
Writer and journalist Ivon Montserrat Arita Guzmán has been subject to ongoing harassment since 2017, which continued in 2024. According to information received by PEN International, on 27 February 2024…
Marvin DEL CID & Sonny FIGUEROA
Guatemalan journalists Marvin Del Cid and Sonny Figueroa faced continuing harassment in 2024. On 18 September 2024, Sonny Figueroa posted on social media that public officials had exposed personal…
Carlos BUCIO BORJA
The poet Carlos Bucio Borja was arrested for reading aloud articles of the Salvadoran Constitution on 4 February 2024, the day of the presidential elections in El Salvador…
Kakwenza RUKIRABASHAIJA
Authorities continued to prosecute exiled novelist, Kakwenza Rukirabashaija for ‘offensive communications’ under Section 25 of the Computer Misuse Act although the section was declared…
Innocent BAHATI
The year ended with poet Innocent Bahati still missing since his disappearance on 7 February 2021 after he reportedly went for a dinner meeting with…
Étienne Fakaba SISSOKO
Author, academic and political activist Étienne Fakaba Sissoko was serving a one-year prison term in Kéniéroba Central Prison at the end of the year. Arrested on…
Collective case of writers and journalists detained without trial for 23 years.
September 2024 marked 23 years of the incommunicado detention without trial of a group of Eritrean journalists and writers, including Dawit ISAAK; Amanuel ASRAT; Said Idris ‘ABU ARE’;…
Rahile DAWUT
Rahile Dawut, a renowned anthropologist and leading expert on the study of Uyghur folklore, is reportedly serving a life sentence after conviction of endangering state security in…
Pham Doan TRANG
An author, journalist, and pro-democracy activist, Pham Doan Trang remains in prison after her appeal against her nine-year prison sentence for…
Arnon Nampha
A poet and human rights lawyer, Arnon Nampha is serving a cumulative sentence of 18 years and 10 months in prison following a series of trials…
Maria RESSA
A journalist and writer, Maria Ressa has been the target of a campaign of judicial harassment and intimidation since her initial arrest on 13 February 2019…
Amanda ECHANIS
A poet, writer and activist, Amanda Echanis has been held in pre-trial detention since she was arrested at her home alongside her then one-month-old…
WAI MOE NAING
A writer, pro-democracy activist and member of PEN Myanmar, Wai Moe Naing was serving a combined sentence of 74 years in prison after conviction of ‘offences’…
Julian ASSANGE
Wikileaks founder and publisher Julian Assange was released from detention on 24 June 2024. Assange returned to his home country of Australia following a plea deal with US prosecutors, after spending 1,901 days behind bars in Belmarsh High Security prison, London…