Day of the Imprisoned Writer 2023: Date, History, 5 Facts About Censorship

Day of the Imprisoned Writer 2023: November 15 is annually marked as Day of the Imprisoned Writer, a day that brings attention to the worldwide censorship, harassment, and persecution of journalists and writers. Numerous government agencies are currently conducting espionage on their citizens, particularly political activists, whistleblowers, and dissenting government critics. Press freedom is non-existent in certain nations, and dissenting journalistic opinions are met with arbitrary detention. Human rights organizations and free speech advocacy groups disseminate prohibited materials in certain regions across the globe. In addition, advocates, writers, and reporters are extended invitations to partake in a discourse concerning the condition of independent journalism and free expression.

Day of the Imprisoned Writer 2023: History

Day of the Imprisoned Writer was established in 1981 by the Writers in Prison Committee of PEN International. Since its inception, PEN has utilized the holiday to advocate for improved protection for journalists and activists, demand the release of imprisoned writers, and seek justice for those writers who made the ultimate sacrifice to preserve the truth. In spite of facing similar intimidation, threats, and intrusive surveillance at the hands of state authorities, the contributions of poets, translators, publishers, and novelists are duly recognized and appreciated. PEN coordinates its activities across its more than one hundred centers in the globe.

PEN annually compiles a list of five authors whose governments have persecuted or imprisoned them. Constantly reporting on or investigating stories involving corruption, violent crimes, unlawful espionage, police cover-ups, and state-sponsored violence, these authors hail from various regions of the globe. Natalia Estemirova and Liu Xiaobo were included on the 2009 PEN list of authors. Later, in 2017, Xiaobo, a dissident author, passed away in detention. Unidentified assailants kidnapped and murdered Estemirova in 2009 while she was conducting an investigation into war atrocities in Chechnya.

In 2018, PEN condemned alongside other organizations concerned with free expression and human rights the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the consulate of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul. By means of its “America Senior Director of Free Expression,” PEN demanded that the Saudi authorities extradite Khashoggi and establish consequences for his assassination. In 2021, on Day of the Imprisoned Writer, PEN recognized twelve Eritrean writers who had been held incommunicado for twenty years: Chinese scholar Rahile Dawut, U.A.E. human rights advocate Mohamed Al-Roken, Turkish politician Selahattin Demirtaş, and Cuban musician Maykel Osorbo. PEN International continues to be committed to providing assistance to novelists, poets, playwrights, editors, and essayists across the globe.

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5 Facts About Censorship

The most heavily censored nation

Eritrea has the strictest censorship in the world.

Your right to information is absolute.

As per Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, each individual is endowed with the liberty to receive and disseminate news, as well as the right to hold an opinion.

As a government conduit, the media

In North Korea, Eritrea, and Turkmenistan, the media is under the control of the respective governments; all independent correspondents operate from exile.

Adversarial malware and advanced surveillance techniques

Nations such as China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam stifle the independent press through a combination of extensive surveillance and cyberattacks.

Governmental censorship does not encompass all instances.

By means of violence, non-state actors such as criminal organizations and militias can impose censorship and make it hazardous for the press to perform its duties.

Day of the Imprisoned Writer 2023: Date