Articles by PEN International
Journalist Grigory Pasko transferred to forced labour camp
(WiPC/IFEX) – On 11 September 2002, journalist Grigory Pasko was transferred to a forced labour camp. International PEN is deeply alarmed by the transfer. Already serving a sentence for his work as a military journalist, this transfer will further curtail his ability to continue writing and makes it more difficult for him to receive visits […]
Russian investigative journalist, EFJA named 2002 Freedom to Write Award winners
(WiPC/IFEX) – The following is a 15 August 2002 WiPC press release: International PEN announces PEN Center USA West’s 2002 Freedom to Write Award Winners: Russian Investigative Journalist, Ethiopian Free Journalists’ Association Named 2002 Freedom to Write Award Winners August 15, 2002, Los Angeles: PEN Center USA West announced today that it will honor Anna […]
WiPC makes special appeal for journalist’s release on humanitarian grounds
(WiPC/IFEX) – The following is a WiPC, International PEN, letter to President Hojjatoleslam Sayed Mohammad Khatami: 09 August 2002 His Excellency Hojjatoleslam Sayed Mohammad Khatami The Presidency Palestine Avenue Azerbaijan Intersection Tehran Islamic Republic of Iran Fax: 00 98 21 649 5880 Your Excellency, We address ourselves to you in the spirit of our shared […]
PEN calls for inclusion of Uzbek writers in possible amnesty
(WiPC/IFEX) – Hopes are high that Uzbek National Day on 1 September 2002 will be marked by an amnesty which could include the release of political prisoners. Among them are the noted writer, Mamadali Makhmudov, and two other writers who have been detained since 1999. However, previous hopes that they would be included in an […]
Asiye Güzel Zeybek?s trial postponed until 16 October 2002
(WiPC/IFEX) – The 7 August 2002 trial hearing against Asiye Güzel Zeybek has been postponed until 16 October. International PEN considers Zeybek’s imprisonment, from February 1997 until her release pending trial in June 2002, to be an unreasonably long period to be detained without conclusion of trial. It expects that the court will come to […]
Newspaper director receives numerous death threats
(WiPC/IFEX) – The WiPC is gravely concerned for the life of newspaper proprietor Clara Britos in light of the numerous death threats she has received over recent weeks. The threats are believed to be linked to articles in the daily “La Tapa” that have exposed purported corruption at the local council in Guernica. The newspaper […]
International PEN disturbed by reports of journalist Siamak Pourzand’s televised “confession”
(WiPC/IFEX) – International PEN is deeply disturbed by reports that Siamak Pourzand, a journalist and film critic who is serving 11 years in prison, had confessed to “treason” before Iranian news agencies in recent days. It fears that he may have been ill-treated or otherwise coerced into making the “confession” and fears for his well-being. […]
International PEN shocked by court’s decision to sentence academic to seven years in prison
(WiPC/IFEX) – International PEN is shocked by the State Security Court’s 29 July 2002 decision to sentence Saad El-Din Ibrahim to seven years in prison. A professor of political sociology at the American University in Cairo and Director of the Ibn Khaldoun Centre for Social and Development Studies, Ibrahim was convicted in May 2001 of […]