According to Sydney PEN, thirty-eight writers and journalists have been killed in the past year. The most dangerous countries have been Iraq, Pakistan, the Phillipines, Sri Lanka and Russia. PEN has a list of killings on its website, with suspected motives for each. While in some cases it is unclear whether death was directly linked to the victim’s writing, for the majority the victim had published criticism of political or social corruption and oppression.
International PEN is an association that exists to promote friendship and cooperation between writers worldwide, to fight for freedom of expression and to represent the conscience of literature.
