Siobhán O'Grady, The Washington Post; At least 238 writers and intellectuals were detained for their work last year, advocacy group says
"At
least 238 writers, academics and intellectuals around the world were
detained in connection to their work last year, according to a report
released Tuesday by PEN America, a freedom of expression advocacy group.
The
imprisonments and detentions occurred in 34 countries, although the
majority took place in just three — China, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
Those same countries are also among the top jailers of journalists
worldwide, according to the 2019 Committee to Protect Journalists prison census.
The data published Tuesday as part of PEN America’s inaugural Freedom to Write Index
accounts for poets, scholars, songwriters and translators, among other
intellectuals the group described as unjustly detained last year around
the world. It does not include journalists unless they also belong to
one of the categories in question. Some detained individuals were
excluded from the report at the request of family members who feared
that public attention could worsen their situations."
