{"id":18656,"date":"2025-03-21T14:53:02","date_gmt":"2025-03-21T14:53:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/?p=18656"},"modified":"2025-05-13T14:51:03","modified_gmt":"2025-05-13T14:51:03","slug":"identity-on-trial-persecution-and-resistance-pen-international-case-list-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/2025\/03\/21\/identity-on-trial-persecution-and-resistance-pen-international-case-list-2025.html","title":{"rendered":"Identity on Trial: Persecution and Resistance \u2013 PEN International Case List 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cAs the very principles of international human rights and humanitarian law are being increasingly questioned by governments worldwide, we must redouble our efforts, defending the values that unite us: freedom, justice, and equality.\u201d<\/em> Ma Thida, Chair of PEN International\u2019s Writers in Prison Committee.<\/strong><\/p>\n

21 March 2025: PEN International is proud to launch Identity on Trial: Persecution and Resistance \u2013 its<\/em><\/strong> Case List 2025<\/em>, which highlights the increasing persecution of writers based on their identity. This year\u2019s report documents the alarming rise in censorship, imprisonment, and threats faced by writers due to their gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or religious beliefs. It underscores a disturbing global trend: those who dare express their identity or challenge dominant narratives are being silenced through legal threats, censorship, and violence.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Read the<\/strong>\u00a0Case List 2025<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

A rising trend: Persecution based on identity<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

While women<\/strong> represented 29% of the writers featured in this year\u2019s Case List, they were more likely to face legal trials, censorship, and harassment. The suppression of women<\/strong>\u2019s rights in Afghanistan<\/strong> has reached harrowing levels. The Taliban\u2019s return to power has resulted in the brutal erasure of women and girls from public life, imposing an apartheid-like system that systematically denies them education, employment, and cultural participation.<\/p>\n

Indigenous writers<\/strong> in the Americas, including Canada<\/strong> and Mexico<\/strong>, faced mounting threats, while ethnic minorities in China, T\u00fcrkiye<\/strong>, and beyond suffered persecution for their activism and cultural expression. Uyghur<\/strong> and Tibetan<\/strong> writers<\/strong>, for instance, continued to be handed lengthy prison sentences, including Uyghur professor Ilham Tohti<\/strong>, who is serving life in prison for advocating for his community\u2019s rights. In T\u00fcrkiye, Kurdish writer<\/strong> Yavuz Ekinci<\/strong> faced more than seven years in prison on baseless terrorism charges linked to his novel Dream Divided<\/em>, which remains banned in the country.<\/p>\n

Book bans and censorship: Erasing marginalised voices<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

One of the most alarming trends in our Case List 2025<\/strong> has been the rise in book bans. Authorities worldwide are restricting access to works that discuss sexual violence, LGBTQI narratives<\/strong>, and racial issues<\/strong>\u2014erasing critical perspectives from public discourse.<\/p>\n

In the United States<\/strong>, more than 10,000 <\/strong>instances of book bans were recorded during the 2023-2024 school year. In Argentina,<\/strong> censorship is increasingly targeting works by women, while in Hungary and the Russian Federation<\/strong>, LGBTQI-themed books are being removed from shelves, with publishers facing fines and intimidation.<\/p>\n

War and conflict: Silencing critical voices<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

The suppression of free expression is deeply intertwined with war, conflict,<\/strong> and the persecution of marginalised voices<\/strong>, with writers, journalists, and cultural figures often targeted for their identities, resistance, and words. PEN International continues to document these threats in countries such as:<\/p>\n