375 Voices Behind Bars: Why Governments Repress Writers

In Iran, a 72-year-old Baha’i poet who wrote about incarceration and freedom may soon be sent back to prison to continue serving her 10-year sentence after undergoing major heart surgery. In Belarus, a philosopher in ill health is nearing the end of his five-year imprisonment, hoping he will be released on schedule. In Vietnam, an activist; in China, an economist. All writers, all imprisoned for their writing by repressive governments.

These are all cases included in the latest Freedom to Write Index, which documents cases around the world of writers jailed for their words. During 2024, we counted 375 such cases, including academics, poets, rappers, novelists, screenwriters, and many more.

It might surprise some to learn that the Index includes such a wide range of professions. That’s because the term writer encompasses far more than the stereotypical image of a solitary figure hunched over a typewriter, surrounded by dusty books. A writer is not defined by their setting or tools, but by their purpose and craft—the act of using words to shape thought, stir emotion, and spark dialogue. Writers are novelists and poets, but they are also columnists, songwriters, bloggers, playwrights, screenwriters, academics, whistleblowers, and social media commentators. Anyone who uses language deliberately to share truth, expose injustice, question authority, or imagine better futures belongs in this community.

A writer at risk, therefore, is not just a columnist detained for a critical op-ed, or a novelist censored for a subversive theme—though those are also realities. It could also be a songwriter whose lyrics strike a nerve with the regime, or a citizen using social media to share their perspectives with thousands. In the hands of the courageous, words become more than tools of expression—they become acts of resistance.In Egypt, Galal El-Behairy—a poet, lyricist, and the 2025 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award honoree—has been imprisoned for over seven years. Jailed at age 27, his life was stolen from him. Poetry was his only “crime.”

Another case included in the Index is Uyghur economist, blogger, and 2014 PEN/ Freedom to Write Award honoree Ilham Tohti. He is serving a life sentence in China after he was arrested for his writing advocating for the economic and cultural rights of the Uyghur minority and for setting up a website that allowed for free and respectful discussions between Uyghurs and other populations in China. He also used his online platform to campaign on behalf of people who disappeared during civil unrest in China.

“The website was repeatedly forced to close or fell victim to unwarranted attacks. I have been regularly summoned and warned [by the government] but continued it anyway, believing that Uyghur Online is of irreplaceable value and that I am doing the right thing,” Tohti wrote, in his 2014 essay “My Ideals and the Career Path I Have Chosen.”

These are just two examples of the people who have been arrested and imprisoned for their writing; many more are covered in the Index, which includes any case of a writer detained as a result of their words and expression for at least 48 hours during a calendar year. Journalists are only included if they write opinion or commentary or they also fall into one of the other professional categories on our list. (The detentions of news reporters are covered by other organizations we often work with, including Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters without Borders (RSF).)

The first Freedom to Write Index was published in 2019, and each year since, we have found more cases of writers being jailed around the world. Online commentators—including bloggers and people who use platforms like Facebook or X/Twitter to express themselves—continue to make up the largest group in the Index. This shows how, in countries like China, Vietnam, Iran, and Saudi Arabia, where traditional media is tightly controlled, the internet often becomes the only space for independent or critical voices. Even though it’s also monitored and censored, it still offers a way to speak out.

Our research shows that writing as a means of expression—whether it is a song, a play, a poem, an academic paper, a book, or a blog post—increasingly carries the risk of punishment. Despite this risk, writers will not be silenced, choosing to raise their voices in the best way they know how—through lyrics, through stories, through prose—to hold their governments to account and to make sure the world sees the truth.

The importance of writers can be seen in the very fact that they are increasingly targeted, imprisoned, and silenced. Writers represent a threat to governments who are trying to control the narrative and rewrite history, because they counter disinformation either directly or through storytelling and allegory. When authoritarian regimes want unquestioning obedience, writers encourage people to think critically about what is going on around them.  

The Index exposes the jailing and mistreatment of these 375 writers. They risked their freedom by not being silent in the face of injustice, and we should honor them by doing the same. Each and every one of them should be released, and we insist that the world’s jailers of writers end this repression and abuse.

Learn more about the writers mentioned:

• Mahvash Sabet: Poet imprisoned in Iran (currently on medical furlough)
• Uladzimir Matskevich: Philosopher and author imprisoned in Belarus
• Pham Doan Trang: Author, journalist, and 2024 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award honoree imprisoned in Vietnam
• Ilham Tohti: Blogger, economist, and 2014 PEN/ Freedom to Write Award honoree imprisoned in China
• Galal El-Behairy: Poet, lyricist, and 2025 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award honoree detained in Egypt