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Founded in 1921, PEN International works to free writers in prison and to promote responsible freedom of expression.
16/05/2026
A little bit of positive news:
Nobel Laureate Narges Mohammadi In Critical Condition After Transfer To Tehran Hospital | PEN International : We welcome the suspension of Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi's sentence and her transfer to a hospital in Tehran, where she is finally receiving the specialist care she has long been denied. PEN International reiterates its call for all sentences against her to be annulled and for her immedia...
Why Jimmy Lai’s plight and fight is a warning bell for us all, everywhere
Listen on ABC National Big Ideas
From rags ... to riches ... to a prison cell. He could have stayed wealthy and silent, but chose not to. What happens when power decides that a free press is a threat?
Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai launched newspapers that dared to challenge Beijing, advocate for democracy, and report the truth when the truth was dangerous.
Now Jimmy Lai faces a life sentence under China’s crackdown on press freedom.
But his story sends a warning to us all, everywhere.
This event, The Troublemaker: How Jimmy Lai Became a Billionaire, and China’s Most Feared Critic was presented by the CUNY Graduate Center (City University of New York)
Speakers
Mark Clifford
President of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation
Author of The Troublemaker: How Jimmy Lai Became a Billionaire…and China’s Most Feared Critic
Evan Osnos (host)
Staff writer at The New Yorker
PEN International has launched Writers Under Siege: Defying Silence – PEN International Case List 2026.
From censorship and arbitrary detention to online harassment, disinformation and war, this year’s Case List reveals how space for expression, culture and dissent is shrinking as governments intensify efforts to silence critical expression and target writers for their work.
In 2025 alone, PEN International documented 140 cases worldwide: 32 writers imprisoned, 26 harassed, 23 facing judicial harassment and 12 subjected to enforced disappearance.
Go to pen-international.org/case-list-2026 to download the full Case List.
In Iran, at least 22 prisoners have been hanged in the last six weeks - according to the Center for Human Rights in Iran - including 10 people who were detained during the anti-government protests in January.
Iran’s most famous human rights campaigner - Narges Mohammadi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 - has been in prison in north-west Iran since February.
Her family says there’s been a sharp deterioration of her health in recent days - and fear she will die if she doesn’t receive adequate medical care.
Listen to this podcast for latest updates - link in bio 🙏
Lovely interview with Ma Thida, during her Fellowship supported by PEN Perth and the Centre for Stories.
21/04/2026
Ma Thida in residence at Centre for Stories | Robert Wood One of the great privileges of my role is that I get to meet people from all over the world. Everyone has a story to tell and there are great thinkers right here on Whadjuk Country. We have also hosted accomplished global thinkers including recently. Take a look at the small video below for one exam...
Dr Ma Thida spoke of the continuing struggle for Myanmar to be noticed by the international community and the ongoing challenges of writing truth in the face of repression.
Join PEN Perth to keep updated.
Co-hosted by Centre for Stories, PEN Perth and the Murdoch Indo-Pacific Research Centre, this Myanmar Update 2026 brought together a deeply engaged audience to hear from Dr Ma Thida on the ongoing situation in Myanmar.
The evening featured a compelling talk and conversation with Simon Adams, Professor of Human Rights at Murdoch University, exploring the realities on the ground, the global response, and the resilience of those continuing to resist.
A confronting and important conversation – and a reminder of the power of storytelling and free expression.
FreeExpression
10/04/2026
Myanmar Update 2026 by Dr Ma Thida
Dr Ma Thida is a former prisoner of conscience, writer, surgeon and human rights advocate from Myanmar. Hear her speak in Perth next week.
Perth events:
• Monday 13 April – Myanmar Update 2026, Murdoch University
• Thursday 16 April – Speaking Truth in Dangerous Times, Curtin University
• Saturday 18 April, 9:30 am – New Steps in the Aged World, Cannington Town Hall
Click the link in our bio to register for these FREE events. Filling up fast so don’t miss out!
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09/04/2026
Can Myanmar find a way forward?
Myanmar has had a long history of complex leadership struggles and coups resulting in a fractured and dangerous society. After a so-called free and fair election, the military dictatorship has once again ‘won’ an overwhelming majority of seats, due to the fact that most opposition parties were banned or jailed. Still in civil war, the country is in crisis.
Dr Ma Thida – writer, surgeon and former prisoner of conscience from Myanmar – offers her rare, lived perspective on a country still in crisis. She has come to Perth to host some talks and discussions about Myanmar and the current state of its politics – and how it is affecting its people.
Thida gives acute insight into the strategy of the government and fractures within political movements. This needs our attention.
Come and hear Thida speak:
Monday 13 April 2026 – 5.30-5.45 pm start
Nexus Theatre, Building 351, Murdoch University
Register FREE now on Eventbrite. See link in our bio to book.
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