Emergency anti-terrorism measures currently being employed by governments around the world are a threat to democratic principles and essential human rights including freedom of expression, declares the Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN (WiPC).

On the occasion of its annual meeting in London, the organisation expresses alarm that governments including the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada, Denmark and Russia are proposing, or have already passed, laws that restrict free expression.

"The atrocities of September 11 should not be exploited by governments to assume extraordinary, unjustified powers to curtail freedom of expression," says WiPC.