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DEFAMATION & 'INSULT' 2007: WRITERS REACT
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In 2006, International PEN
launched a campaign against criminal defamation
and insult laws. It has long been concerned that these
laws are so vague and imprecise that they can become a
vehicle for those in power to quell dissent and criticism.
Furthermore, the definition of insult or offence is notoriously
difficult to formulate. There are no objective
standards: the difference between an opinion and an
insult is subjective. The notion of ‘insult’ is so broad in its
interpretation it is impossible to legislate.  |
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DEFAMATION & 'INSULT': WRITERS REACT
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At the sixth International Writers in Prison
Committee conference held in Istanbul in March
2006, PEN member participants recognised the
grave threat to freedom of expression posed by
defamation and "‘insult" laws. The conference
delegates agreed to mount a special campaign on
this issue. This report comprises a first step of this
initiative, which was launched on International Writers
in Prison Day, November 15, 2006. The campaign
will continue through April 2007 and consist of a
variety of actions calling for the abolition of all
criminal defamation and "insult" laws. |
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ANTITERRORISM, WRITERS AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION: A PEN REPORT
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The question of how freedom of expression has fared in this climate is, as PEN views it, pressing. Is freedom of expression another victim of the catastrophic events of September 11, 2001, or does it nevertheless survive and thrive? If and where freedom of expression has been eroded, what consequences does that erosion entail? If there is indeed more danger than ever to ‘life, liberty and security of person’ in the post- September 11, 2001 (or, to use that by-now familiar term, the post- ‘9/11’) world, what, if anything, can writers do about it? Must freedom of expression as a right be held in abeyance in the name of tracking down and apprehending terrorists? Or should it be protected as a force for bringing about greater understanding between nations, as PEN first believed it could be in the early days of PEN’s formation? |
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WRITERS IN PRISON COMMITTEE CASE LIST
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The Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of International PEN was set up in 1960 in response to mounting concern about attempts to silence critical voices around the world through the detention of writers. The Committee works on behalf of all those who are detained or otherwise persecuted for their opinions expressed in writing and for writers who are under attack for their peaceful political activities or for the practice of their profession, provided that they did not use violence or advocate violence or racial hatred. |
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SILENCING THE MESSENGER: THE MURDER OF WRITERS & JOURNALISTS
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The yearlong Campaign on Freedom of Expression and Impunity, focusing on unsolved
and unpunished crimes aimed at silencing writers and journalists, was launched
on November 25, 2002, in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, during a conference
of the Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of International PEN. Direct actions
have been taken throughout 2002 and culminated with the release of this
PEN report on the problem of impunity and with a roundtable during International
PEN’s 69th Congress in Mexico in November 2003.
• Read the report in English.
• Read the report in Spanish. |
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PEN POSITION PAPERS
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Together with the PEN Prison Writing Program,
Freedom to Write has produced several position papers on topics related
to writers in prison in the United States. |
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CORE FREEDOMS REPORTS
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Since its launch in February 2004, the Campaign for Core Freedoms has compiled a series of reports that examine the most troubling provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act, as well legislation under consideration to both expand and amend the Act. |
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