Nobel prize winner Svetlana Alexievich quits 'shameful' Russian PEN

'The torture in my country is transparent, in Australia it is not obvious'

Read this account of life on Manus by Imran Mohammad...

Urgent Statement

PEN Melbourne is very concerned for the safety of detained Kurdish journalist Behrouz Boochani, who has been reporting from within Australia’s immigration detention centre on Manus Island for more than three years. https://www.penmelbourne.org/urgent-statement

Writer Asli Erdoğan and Translator Necmiye Alpay Provisionally Released in Turkey | PEN America

The release of prominent writer and journalist Asli Erdoğan and distinguished translator Necmiye Alpay today is cause for cautious optimism as their trial begins today. PEN America https://pen.org/press-release/2016/12/29/writer-asli-erdo%c4%9fan-and-translator-necmiye-alpay-provisionally-released

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PEN Melbourne and PEN Sydney protest the inhumane treatment of asylum seekers on Manus Island, and have profound concerns for the safety of Behrouz Boochani, honorary member of PEN Melbourne, in the wake of Faysal Ahmed’s death. The death on 24 December 2016 of 27-year-old Sudanese asylum seeker Faysal Ishak Ahmed, has plunged the men incarcerated on Manus Island into a deeper sense of vulnerability, despair and fear for their safety. Kurdish-Iranian writer, journalist and human rights advocate, Behrouz Boochani, who has been incarcerated on Manus Island since August 2013, continues to bear witness to the plight of his fellow-inmates, in his reports, columns, stories, social media posts, and many pieces published in both Australian and overseas media outlets. The death of Faysal Ahmed, and his reporting of these events have put Behrouz’s safety and sense of well-being at even greater risk, as too have recent pieces published in the New York Times that have publicised the fact that Behrouz Boochani has had access to various documents which expose many abuses incurred at the centre. Boochani’s role as a leader in exposing the degrading and inhumane predicament inmates face in the centre, have also compounded this risk. Behrouz Boochani has been recognised by leading human rights organisers such as PEN International and Reporters Without Borders, as a writer and journalist of great courage, and as a human rights defender, despite working in such extremely difficult circumstances. We therefore hold the Commonwealth Government of Australia, and the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, responsible for Behrouz Boochani’s well-being, and we support his right to continue speaking out without fear of adverse repercussions. With the death now of three young men at the centre, through injury and illness, the fears we share for Behrouz Boochani’s well-being and safety, are certainly well-founded. Arnold Zable and Janet Galbraith for PEN Melbourne and PEN Sydney www.penmelbourne.org Arnold: +61 400 080 548 Janet: +67 579 777 377

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PEN Melbourne and PEN Sydney protest the inhumane treatment of asylum seekers on Manus Island, and have profound concerns for the safety of Behrouz Boochani, honorary member of PEN Melbourne, in the wake of Faysal Ahmed’s death. The death on 24 December 2016 of 27-year-old Sudanese asylum seeker Faysal Ishak Ahmed, has plunged the men incarcerated on Manus Island into a deeper sense of vulnerability, despair and fear for their safety. Kurdish-Iranian writer, journalist and human rights advocate, Behrouz Boochani, who has been incarcerated on Manus Island since August 2013, continues to bear witness to the plight of his fellow-inmates, in his reports, columns, stories, social media posts, and many pieces published in both Australian and overseas media outlets. The death of Faysal Ahmed, and his reporting of these events have put Behrouz’s safety and sense of well-being at even greater risk, as too have recent pieces published in the New York Times that have publicised the fact that Behrouz Boochani has had access to various documents which expose many abuses incurred at the centre. Boochani’s role as a leader in exposing the degrading and inhumane predicament inmates face in the centre, have also compounded this risk. Behrouz Boochani has been recognised by leading human rights organisers such as PEN International and Reporters Without Borders, as a writer and journalist of great courage, and as a human rights defender, despite working in such extremely difficult circumstances. We therefore hold the Commonwealth Government of Australia, and the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, responsible for Behrouz Boochani’s well-being, and we support his right to continue speaking out without fear of adverse repercussions. With the death now of three young men at the centre, through injury and illness, the fears we share for Behrouz Boochani’s well-being and safety, are certainly well-founded. Arnold Zable and Janet Galbraith for PEN Melbourne and PEN Sydney www.penmelbourne.org Arnold: +61 400 080 548 Janet: +67 579 777 377

Iran: Poets and writers arrested in new crackdown PEN International

Happy Bloody Christmas: The True Story of Faysal, by Eaten Fish

Thank you Eaten Fish for this raw and terrifying account.

UNHCR Regional Representation in Canberra

Bring the asylum seekers on Manus and Nauru to Australia now.

'The Political is Personal: A 20th Century Memoir' by Judith Buckrich

Read this on Judy Buckrich's wonderful memoir and then book a date in your 2017 diary for IWD Wed 8 March for an 'in conversation' with Judy Buckrich and Sara Dowse. More details to come on www.penmelbourne.org

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A highlight of PEN Melbourne's year is our annual card writing night. We gather together with friends, food and drinks and write greeting cards to fellow writers who are imprisoned or otherwise detained. We know that these messages of support are so welcomed. Asli Erdogan, a novelist currently imprisoned in Turkey wrote this reply to Danish PEN: ‘My only tie to life is those voices which reach me from outside’. You are warmly invited to join us. Janet Galbraith poet and writer has worked to support refugees for many years and will be our guest speaker. It's also our AGM. Tuesday 29 November, 6pm Clyde Hotel,Carlton. http://www.penmelbourne.org/forthcoming…/…/pen-melbourne-agm

PEN Melbourne AGM

Show solidarity with imprisoned writers around the world. Come along to PEN Melbourne's annual card writing social evening. This is a great opportunity to meet with PEN people and write cards to fellow writers who pay a heavy price for simply doing their work. Janet Galbraith poet and writer has worked to support refugees for many years and will be our guest speaker. It's also our AGM. Tuesday 29 November, 6pm Clyde Hotel,Carlton. http://www.penmelbourne.org/forthcoming-events/2016/11/2/pen-melbourne-agm