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The
Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN was set up in 1960
as a result of mounting concern about attempts to silence critical
voices around the world through the detention of writers. It 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. Member centres of International
PEN are active in campaigning for an improvement in the conditions
of persecuted writers and journalists. They send letters to the
governments concerned and lobby their own governments to campaign
for the release of detained writers and for investigations in cases
of torture and killings. Through writing to the families and, where
possible, directly to prisoners, they provide encouragement and
hope. INFORMATION SOURCES The WiPC gathers its information from a wide variety of sources. It seeks to confirm its information through two independent sources. Where its information is unconfirmed, it will either take not action, or send an appeal worded to reflect the fact that the information is as yet incomplete. Sources include press reports, reports form individuals in the region in question, reports from other human rights groups PEN members themselves, embassy officials, academics, prisoners' families, lawyers and friends, and exile groups. It also works with international NGOs, such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. It is a founder member of IFEX - the International Freedom of Expression Exchange. IFEX is a collaborative, on-line service in which several groups involved in the campaign for free expression pool information. Other members include Article 19, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Index on Censorship, the International Federation of Journalists and Reporters sans Frontieres, as well as regional and national groups. For further details see the IFEX website: www.IFEX.org PEN Centres with Writers in Prison Committees American,
Armenian, Australia North, Austrian, Belarussian, Belgium Flemish,
Belgium French, Canadian, Canberra, Catalan, Croatian, Czech,
Danish, English, Finnish, French, Galicia, German, Ghanaian,
Guadalajara, Guinean, Hong Kong, Israeli, Italian, Japanese, Kenyan,
Liechenstein, Lithuanian, Malawian, Melbourne, Mexico, Nepalese,
Netherlands, New Zealand, Norwegian, Palestinian, Perth, Peruvian,
Polish, Portuguese, Quebecois, Russian, San Miguel de Allende,
Scottish, Slovak, South African, Suisse Romande, Swedish, Swiss
German, Swiss Italian, Sydney, Turkish, USA West, US Writers in
Exile, Vietnamese Writers Abroad Half-year
statistics
Total
number of cases recorded January to June 2002 : 887 Explanation
of Terms Used Main
Cases Judicial
concern Investigation
case
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