PEN Calls for U.S. Protection of Afghan Writers
PEN America has issued a statement calling for the U.S. government to offer protection to writers and other cultural figures in Afghanistan. The statement comes in the wake of the Taliban's takeover of the country following its seizing of the capital, Kabul, on August 15, prompting worries about the status of human rights in the nation. It also follows the targeted killings of two members of Afghanistan PEN by Taliban forces in the weeks leading up to the Taliban's takeover of the Afghan government.
"As the Taliban reclaims power in Afghanistan, the many courageous Afghan writers, cultural actors, journalists, and activists—especially women—who have exercised and defended the right to freedom of expression are facing grave and imminent threats," PEN America senior director of free expression programs Summer Lopez said in a statement. "PEN America calls on the U.S. State Department and the Department of Homeland Security to work to swiftly offer safe harbor to these individuals, via the expansion and expediting of visa processing and the granting of humanitarian parole."
