![\"webalajami\"](\"http:\/\/www.pen-international.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/webalajami.jpg\")
<\/a>Mohammed Ibn al-Dheeb al-\u2018Ajami,<\/strong> a Qatari poet, is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence in the Central Prison, in Doha, Qatar, simply for writing and reciting poems. Al-\u2018Ajami was arrested in Doha on 16 November 2011 after being summoned by state security. He was reportedly charged two days later with \u2018inciting the overthrow of the ruling regime\u2019 and \u2018criticising the Emir\u2019 for two of his poems. On 29 November 2012, Mohammed al-\u2018Ajami was sentenced to life imprisonment in a two-line judgement. Al-\u2018Ajami was not present for his sentencing. On 25 February 2013, al-\u2018Ajami\u2019s sentence was reduced to 15 years. Following the court\u2019s latest ruling, al-Ajami\u2019s only legal recourse is to be pardoned by the Emir. Take action for Al-\u2018Ajami here.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nFor more information please contact Communications Officer: holly.strauss@pen-international.org<\/p>\n Source: http:\/\/www.pen-international.org\/newsitems\/on-world-poetry-day-take-action-for-dissident-poets\/<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" World Poetry Day, marked each year on 21 … Continue reading ![\"Eritrea1\"](\"http:\/\/www.pen-international.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Eritrea1-300x180.jpeg\")
<\/span><\/a>Award-winning Eritrean poet, critic and editor-in-chief of the leading newspaper\u00a0\u12d8\u1218\u1295\u00a0(Zemen, The Times<\/em>), Amanuel Asrat<\/strong>, was arrested at his home on the morning of 23 September 2001 amid a crackdown on state and private media. It is believed that he is being held without charge or trial. The limited information available suggests that Asrat is detained in the maximum security prison, Eiraeiro, north of Asmara. PEN International believes that Asrat\u2019s detention is an attempt by the Eritrean government to stifle critical voices, including comment on its conflict with Ethiopia. Take action for Asrat here.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n![\"webatabek\"](\"http:\/\/www.pen-international.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/webatabek-300x169.jpg\")
<\/span><\/a>Aron Atabek<\/strong> is a poet, journalist and social activist. He has written several books of poetry and prose inspired by Tengriist spirituality and was the founder, in 1992, of the monthly newspaper Khak <\/em>(The Truth). ) Atabek was sentenced to 18 years\u2019 imprisonment in 2007, following his involvement in a 2006 protest against an attempt by Kazakh authorities to flatten a shanty town called\u00a0Shanyrak<\/span><\/a> to make way for luxury apartments; the protest ended in violent clashes and the death of a police officer. Atabek has been in prison since 2006 and has spent much of his incarceration in solitary confinement. Take action or Atabek here.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n![\"Liu](\"http:\/\/www.chinesepen.org\/english\/files\/2016\/03\/Liu-Xia.jpg\")
Liu Xia<\/strong> is a Chinese\u00a0poet, artist, and founding member of the Independent Chinese PEN Centre. She has been held in her Beijing apartment without access to phones, Internet, doctors of her choice, or visitors since her husband, imprisoned poet Liu Xiaobo, was named Nobel Peace Laureate in October 2010. There are reports that Liu Xia\u2019s mental and physical health are suffering due to her detention. Take action for Xia here.<\/span><\/a>
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<\/a>Saudi Arabian-born Palestinian poet, artist, curator, Ashraf Fayadh<\/strong>, was initially arrested in August 2013, accused of \u2018misguided and misguiding thoughts\u2019 following the submission of a complaint to the Saudi Arabian Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. According to reports, the complaint contended that Fayadh had made obscene comments about God, the Prophet Muhammad, and the Saudi Arabian state. Released on bail, he was rearrested on 1 January 2014 on charges including \u2018insulting the divine self\u2019 and having long hair. He has been held in a prison in the city of Abha ever since. Take action for Fayadh here.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n