On day two of our General Assembly, delegates begin to set out why our founding mission matters as much now as it did in 1921.

In a world filling up with artificial voices our priority is to defend the human voice and to protect the freedom to read and write for everyone.

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No Safe Haven: Writers and the Rise of Transnational Repression. Join us TOMORROW, 16:00–17:30pm BST online, as part of our 92nd Annual Congress.

📅 30 September 2026, 16:00–17:30 BST
📍 Online

Book your free ticket here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/no-safe-ha...

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Storytelling has always been how we understand the world around us, so writers and readers deserve a say in what comes next.

As Burhan Sonmez warns, we must address the risks of AI now, before its future is shaped entirely by commercial interests or political power.

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Opening our 92nd Annual Congress, PEN International President Burhan Sonmez addressed the Assembly about what is at stake as AI reshapes how we write and communicate.

Every language carries its own memory of the world, and protecting that diversity is at the heart of our work.

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Today we opened the General Assembly of our 92nd Congress: Writers at Risk in the Age of AI and Global Disorder. Now, Burhan Sonmez speaks to the Assembly, reminding us a book's value lies in the human act of writing it.

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Chinese writer #DongYuyu is serving 7 years after a closed-door espionage trial. Now hospitalised with a lung tumour, he can't get the cancer care he needs in prison.

We call for his immediate release, and urgent treatment and family contact until then.

#EmptyChair #PENCongress

#AhmedMansoor, the UAE's last openly working human rights defender, has been jailed since 2017 on vague charges. Serving 25 years in isolation, with no bed, water or shower, and denied family visits.

PEN International calls for his immediate and unconditional release.

#EmptyChair #PENCongress

#PhamDoanTrang: 6 birthdays behind bars, unless the world speaks up.

Vietnamese author serving 9 years for "propaganda against the State" despite a UN ruling it arbitrary. Held nearly 1,600km from her elderly mother.

PEN International calls for her immediate release.

#EmptyChair #PENCongress

Francisco Alejandro Leyva Aguilar, one of Oaxaca's best-known political columnists, was shot dead in July 2026, a day after publishing a column criticising the governor's administration.

PEN International calls for a prompt, independent investigation.

#EmptyChair #PENCongress

#InnocentBahati: five years without answers for a poet who spoke out.

The Rwandan poet has been missing since February 2021, after a dinner meeting he never returned from. His phone has been off ever since.

PEN demands Rwanda account for his whereabouts. #EmptyChair #PENCongress

#IsmailAlexandrani: Freed once, silenced again.

Award-winning Egyptian journalist covering Sinai, arrested 24 Sept 2025 on terrorism charges over Facebook posts, after serving 7 years following a grossly unfair trial. PEN calls for his immediate, unconditional release.
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#MaríaCristinaGarridoRodríguez: a poet in solitary confinement for daring to protest. The Cuban poet and activist is serving 7 years for joining peaceful protests. Her collection Voz cautiva was written from prison.

We call for her immediate and unconditional release. #EmptyChair #PENCongress

#SelahattinDemirtaş: sentenced to 42 years for words spoken in dissent. Honorary PEN member and writer, detained in Türkiye since 2016. The ECHR has twice ordered his release and yet Türkiye ignores both rulings.

PEN calls for his immediate and unconditional release. #EmptyChair #PENCongress

Threats don't end when writers flee. Join @smohyeddin.bsky.social and writers, journalists & human rights advocates to unpack transnational repression and exile in the upcoming panel "No Safe Haven" - part of our 92nd Annual Congress. Free ticket⬇️ www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1999394423...

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This year's 92nd Annual Congress (29–30 September) will explore the growing threats to human expression, from censorship and conflict to newer dangers like AI-driven disinformation and surveillance.

Together, we'll consider how the PEN movement can respond.

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