December 2004/January 2005
FTW BULLETIN
News from the Freedom to Write Committee of PEN American Center
PEN American Center, 588 Broadway, Room 303, New York, NY 10012, 212-334-1660 ext. 105 and 106

CONTENTS

DOMESTIC NEWS AND CAMPAIGNS

INTERNATIONAL NEWS AND CAMPAIGNS

PEN American Center Honorary Members Liu Jingsheng and Raúl Rivero Released

Liu Jingsheng, a 1998 PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award recipient and honorary member of PEN American Center, was released on November 27, 2004. He spent over ten years in a Chinese prison for "counter-revolutionary propaganda" and leading a "counter-revolutionary group." Accused of distributing and producing the journal Freedom Forum, as well as pro-democracy leaflets and statements on China's human rights situation, Liu was arrested in 1992 and held until his trial two years later when he was sentenced to prison until May 2007. Just after gaining his release, Liu wrote a letter to PEN stating, "When I was in the jail, some international organizations gave me various awards, which, needless to say, encouraged me spiritually to get over my hard time there. I have been grateful to them for such help and encouragement. When I regain my freedom, learning that I have been an Honorary Member of your PEN centers, I feel deeply honored, and it is a great spiritual encouragement to me."

Raúl Rivero, honorary member of PEN American Center, was released on November 30, 2004 after having been transferred from prison to a military hospital in the capital, Havana, for medical tests. This poet, writer, and independent journalist was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment in April 2003 under laws governing the protection of the Cuban state. He was arrested as part of a crackdown on alleged dissidents that began on March 18, 2003 and ended in the arrest of more than 80 people. Nine of the journalists or librarians sentenced in the clampdown have been freed on parole, including Manuel Vázquez Portal, Marta Beatriz Roque, Oscar Espinosa Chepe, Edel José García Díaz and Jorge Olivera Castillo. PEN welcomes the freedom granted to these, but calls upon the Cuban authorities to make their release unconditional. PEN also urges the authorities to free the journalists and librarians who remain behind bars in Cuba.

To read more about Raúl Rivero and Liu Jingsheng, please visit the Honorary Member section of the Freedom to Write website by clicking here.


Back to Contents
PEN American Center Honorary Member Ruslan Sharipov Obtains Asylum in the U.S.

Uzbek journalist and human rights activist Ruslan Sharipov has obtained political asylum in the United States and is now with members of his family in California.

Sharipov fled Uzbekistan on his way to a work camp after receiving a two-year community service sentence this past June. He had originally been given a four-year prison sentence on appeal in September 2003. To read more about Ruslan's case, click here.

Ruslan Sharipov's journalistic work in Uzbekistan focused on human rights violations of the Uzbek government. He was a correspondent for the Russian press agency, Prima, and president of the Independent Journalists Association of Uzbekistan. He plans to continue his human rights activism from California.

The picture to the right is of Sharipov while under court in Tashkent.

Back to Contents
To Previous FTW Bulletins:


Back to Contents