providing new information on the situation of writers in prison from the previous two
months. Also planned for the website are the Writers in Prison Committee Rapid Action
Network Alerts which provide details of cases of individuals whose lives and liberty are being
threatened. The Alerts include advice and governments' addresses for those who wish to send
their own protests about the abuses.
Here are names and some particulars
concerning writers who have been freed because of our efforts:
BELARUS: Pavel Mozheiko Released on Parole
Pavel Mozheiko, a journalist for the independent Pahonia, was freed on
parole on 21 March 2003. He had been serving a one-year term of forced
labour. His release follows that of Mikola Markevich, editor in chief of
the newspaper, on 4 March 2003. While welcoming the release of Mozheiko and
Markevich, the Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN remains
concerned that their release is on condition of good behaviour and both are
under threat of being returned to detention if they "re-offend".
SIERRA LEONE: Editor released after four months of six-month sentence
The Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN welcomes the early release of Paul
Kamara, founding
editor of the daily For Di People. Kamara was freed on 11 March 2003 after serving nearly four months of his
six-month sentence. Kamara was sentenced on 15 November 2002 to six months' imprisonmentand a fine of
4,500 leones (c. US$2). The conviction stemmed from a series of articles in which the journalist accused
appeal court judge Methland Tholla Thomson of being "a thief", "a criminal" and "a constitutional fraudster" in
his management of Sierra Leone's football association. On his release, Kamara called for a repeal of the laws
under which he was sentenced and announced that he would be returning to work as soon as possible.
EGYPT: Court of Cassation to acquit academic Saad El-Din Ibrahim on 18 March 2003.
Dr. Saad El-Din Ibrahim, alongside his colleagues Mohammed Hassanein and Nadia
Abd El Nour, whom PEN considered to have been detained solely for criticism of
the Egyptian election process, were cleared of all charges against them. A
fourth defendant, Magda Ibrahim El Beh, received a six-months suspended
sentence the same day. Dr. Ibrahim had been freed in December 2002 pending the
appeal hearing. He had previously spent a total of 14 months in prison between
June 2001 and December 2002.
RUSSIA
Former PEN USA Honorary Member Grigori Pasko, the former military
journalist who was convicted on charges of espionage for passing
information to Japanese television about the environmentally
hazardous practices of the Russian Pacific Fleet, has accepted a
position as an aide to State Duma Deputy Sergei Yushenkov
(independent), Interfax reported on 3 March. Yushenkov is a
co-chairman of the Liberal Russia party. ("RFE/RL Russian Political
Weekly," 5 March)
SPAIN: Three Egunkaria Writers Released on Bail
The release on bail of three of the six Basque writers and journalists for the
Basque newspaper Euskaldunon Egunkaria who had been arrested on 21 February is
welcomed by Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN. It remains
concerned, however, that three others remain detained, apparently
incommunicado, a month after their arrest .
SPAIN: Three Egunkaria Writers Released on Bail
The release on bail of three of the six Basque writers and journalists for the
Basque newspaper Euskaldunon Egunkaria who had been arrested on 21 February is
welcomed by Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN. It remains
concerned, however, that three others remain detained, apparently
incommunicado, a month after their arrest .
PEN WAshington's Freedom To Write Committee
gets its Rapid Action Network bulletins (RANs) each Friday, which as Chairman I forward to our Team Members.
If you would like to help writers persecuted for the practice of their profession,
please contact me via my e-mail
Kevin O'Morrison, Chair:
Freedom
to Write Committee
k.omorrison@attbi.com
2002 Freedom to Write Awards
Each year PEN USA presents Freedom to Write Awards to men and women who have produced work in the
face of extreme adversity, been punished for exercising their freedom of expression or fought against
censorship and defended the right to publish freely. The awards are presented in the fall at PEN USA’s
annual Literary Festival. The 2002 award winners were:
The Ethiopian Free Press Journalists Association
Anna Politkovskaya
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