Articles by PEN International
Author Fazal Wahab murdered
(WiPC/IFEX) – The WiPC of International PEN condemns the murder of author Fazal Wahab on 21 January 2003. Wahab was shot dead on 21 January by four armed men in the hill resort of Mingora, in North-West Frontier Province. Wahab, whose work was critical of radical Islamic clerics, had reportedly received death threats. However, in […]
WiPC concerned for safety of playwright
(WiPC/IFEX) – The WiPC of International PEN is deeply concerned for the safety of playwright Pierre Mumbere Mujomba and the owner of the house in which he lives. According to information received by PEN, Mujomba’s play “The Last Envelope” (“La dernière enveloppe”) was performed on 21 January 2003. The play is political in nature. During […]
Journalist Grigory Pasko released
(WiPC/IFEX) – Grigory Pasko, a journalist imprisoned in December 2001, was freed on 23 January 2003, following a parole hearing. He was serving a two-year and four-month sentence for his reports on Russian navy dumping of nuclear waste. International PEN is delighted by this news, having campaigned on his behalf since his first arrest in […]
Heavy sentences handed down to Internet writers
(WiPC/IFEX) – International PEN is deeply shocked by the heavy sentences handed down to Internet writers Mohamed Zaki, Ibrahim Moosa Luthfee, Ahmed Ibrahim Didi and Fathimath Nisreen. Businessmen Didi, Luthfee and Zaki, and Nisreen, personal secretary to Luthfee, were arrested between 30 January and 1 February 2002 for their alleged involvement with “Sandhaanu”, an Internet […]
Writer and academic Lesley McCulloch sentenced to five months’ imprisonment
(WiPC/IFEX) – On 30 December 2002, an Indonesian court found British academic Lesley McCulloch and her American colleague, health worker Joy Lee Sadler, to have acted in violation of visa regulations. The two women were sentenced to five and four months’ imprisonment, respectively, and are expected to be released in mid-January and February 2003, having […]
Journalist’s release leaves just one print journalist in prison
(WiPC/IFEX) – The WiPC of International PEN welcomes the release of journalist Javier Tuanama Valera on 16 November 2002 and calls upon the authorities to set free the one print journalist still in prison in Peru on highly dubious terrorism charges. Tuanama was the editor-in-chief of “Hechos” magazine. He was arrested in March 1994 and […]
Journalist detained
(WiPC/IFEX) – The WiPC of International PEN is deeply concerned at the news of the detention of Ezra Fessehaye, a journalist with the government-owned newspaper “Hadas Eritrea”. According to PEN’s sources, Fessehaye was arrested by security forces in July 2002 and has not been heard of since. The journalist, who analysed international news for “Hadas […]
Ayatollah orders reconsideration of death sentence handed down to academic Hashem Aghajari
(WiPC/IFEX) – On 17 November 2002, Professor Hashem Aghajari’s lawyer, Saleh Nikbakht, announced that Ayatollah Ali Khameni had ordered Iran’s chief judge to review the death sentence handed down to the academic. The order was reportedly issued following protests by hundreds of university teachers and students, and is thought to be likely to lead to […]