PEN America Report Finds Jailing of Writers Surged in 2023

May 02, 2024

PEN America's latest Freedom to Write Index, its fifth annual report tracking the detention and imprisonment of writers, found that the number of writers jailed reached a five-year high in 2023. Per the report, at least 339 writers were behind bars last year, an increase of nine percent over 2022.

The report found that China, already the world's top jailer of writers, posted a significant increase, with more than 100 writers imprisoned for the first time. Iran had the second highest number of imprisoned writersm at 49. War and conflict also shaped the report, which named Russia and Israel as leading jailers of writers; the report notes that "all 14 individuals detained in 2023 [by Israel] are Palestinians."

To view the full report, click here.

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