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       Record Number of Writers Were Jailed Globally in 2023, PEN America Says

       For the first time, China has more than 100 incarcerated writers, and Israel and Russia entered the list of the 10 countries with the most imprisoned writers.

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       Pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong protesting the arrest of Zhang Zhan, a citizen journalist who was jailed in 2020 for her reporting on the coronavirus outbreak in the mainland Chinese city of Wuhan.Credit...Miguel Candela/EPA, via Shutterstock

       By Claire Moses

       May 1, 2024Updated 1:00 p.m. ET

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       The number of jailed writers in China surpassed 100 for the first time as the country continued to be the biggest jailer of writers, according to PEN America, a free expression group, which released its annual Freedom to Write Index on Wednesday.

       PEN America reported that 339 writers were imprisoned in 2023, the most in the five years it has been producing the index.

       The number of jailed writers — a list that excludes reporters, but includes literary writers, poets, online commentators and opinion writers — has generally gone up over the past five years, said Karin Karlekar, the director of writers at risk at PEN America. “We are seeing worsening threats against writers,” she said.

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       Claire Moses is a Times reporter in London, focused on coverage of breaking and trending news. More about Claire Moses

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