PEN’s global community condemns book bans around the world
“In the face of rising censorship, we must confront the tyranny of those who seek to silence the voices of dissent and truth. Through book bans, authorities attempt to suffocate the essence of freedom, but we must stand firm. Let literature be our shield against oppression, a beacon of resilience in the darkness.” – Burhan Sonmez, PEN International President
23 April 2024: On World Book Day, PEN International and its Centres denounce the alarming surge in book bans worldwide, including Belarus, Brazil, China, Hungary, the Russian Federation, Türkiye and the USA, where authorities are attempting to stifle dissent and criticism by censoring literature, persecuting writers, and suppressing inconvenient truths.
For details, see here: https://www.pen-international.org/news/pens-global-community-condemns-book-ban-around-the-world
Pham Doan Trang to be recognized with international award
Vietnamese writer and journalist serving a nine-year prison sentence for her work has been recognized with an international literary award.
The rights group PEN America has announced that Pham Doan Trang will receive its 2024 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award. The honor is bestowed each year to a writer imprisoned for his or her work.
Trang is known in Vietnam for her blog and books about civil liberties. She started a blog in 2006 as a way to create space for independent debate. Since then, the writer has started online magazines, opened a publishing house, and authored books on politics, human rights, and the Vietnamese legal system.
See more here: https://www.voanews.com/a/writer-jailed-in-vietnam-to-be-recognized-with-international-award/7570956.html
Russian war reporter killed by Ukrainian drone: paper
War correspondent Semyon Eremin, who worked for the Russian daily Izvestia, has been killed in a Ukrainian drone attack in southeast Ukraine, the newspaper says.
Izvestia said Eremin, 42, died of wounds suffered when a Ukrainian drone attacked while he was returning from a trip to a Russian unit in the Zaporizhzhia region.
See more here: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8598925/russian-war-reporter-killed-by-ukrainian-drone-paper/
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