Articles by PEN International
PEN calls for release of imprisoned writers and journalists
(WiPC/IFEX) – The following is the full text of a letter by Moris Farhi, Chair of the Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN, which calls for the release of all writers and journalists currently imprisoned in Nigeria. “Sir, Reacting to the death of Nigeria’s President, General Sani Abacha, the Writers in Prison Committee of […]
Playwright Esber Yagmurdereli re-imprisoned
(WiPC/IFEX) – On 1 June 1998, Esber Yagmurdereli, the Turkish playwright who had been in hiding since January 1998, was arrested and sent to prison in Ankara. **Updates IFEX alerts dated 29 January 1998; 17, 14 November and 23 October 1997; 19 December and 26 May 1995** According to international news service reports, Yagmurdereli was […]
Writer to serve ten-month prison term
(WiPC/IFEX) – On 6 March 1998 Edip Polat, a writer and long-standing activist for Kurdish rights, was sentenced to a 10-month prison term under Article 159/1 of the Turkish Penal Code which prohibits “insult” of state organs. He was convicted for an article published in the now banned ‘Ozgur Gundem’ newspaper in July 1993, which […]
Playwright faces up to 12 years imprisonment
(WiPC/IFEX) – According to information released by WiPC on 22 April 1998, actress and playwright Ratna Sarumpaet was arrested on 10 March 1998. She continues to be held in police custody in Jakarta and will be tried on charges of “unacceptable political activity” and “the expression of feelings of hostility . . . towards the […]
WiPC makes appeal on eve of Pope’s visit to Nigeria
(WiPC/IFEX) – The following is the text of a letter which has been sent by WiPC to: His Excellency the Archbishop Pablo Puente 54 Parkside Wimbledon London SW19 5NF On behalf of International PEN, the world association of writers with a 75-year history of defending the right to freedom of expression, we write on the […]
14-year sentence against army General as an apparent punishment against writings
(WiPC/IFEX) – According to WiPC, on 11 March 1998, Brigadier General Jose Francisco Gallardo Rodriguez was sentenced by the First Military Court to 14 years and eight months imprisonment for “misappropriation of government property and destruction of military archives.” The charges relate to allegations that Brig. Gen. Gallardo had profiteered from selling Army horse feed […]
TV chief appeals against two-year probation order
(WiPC/IFEX) – On 28 January 1998, the Oshmyany Municipal Court sentenced Pavel Sheremet, Minsk Bureau Chief of the Russian Television company, ORT, to two years probation. Sheremet had been arrested in July 1997 on charges of illegal border crossing. He was held until October before being freed pending trial. WiPC considered him to be detained […]
Poet Ogaga Ifowodo still detained in solitary confinement
(WiPC/IFEX) – According to WiPC, poet Ogaga Ifowodo, who was arrested around 6 November 1997 on his return to Nigeria from the UK, is still reported to be held in solitary confinement with no access to family, lawyer or doctors (not previously reported by IFEX). Ifowodo’s arrest has not yet been officially acknowledged and no […]