PEN Canada
PEN Canada is one of the 148 centres of PEN International. Founded in 1926, it has a membership of over 1,000 writers and supporters who campaign on behalf of writers around the world who are persecuted, imprisoned and exiled for exercising their right to freedom of expression. Since its founding, various PEN Centers around the world have campaigned on behalf of such acclaimed writers as Czech playwright Václav Havel, Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma, novelist Salman Rushdie and Turkey's 2006 Nobel laureate in literature, Orhan Pamuk. PEN Canada is a member of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange network. Over the years, PEN Canada membership has included many of the leading figures in the Canadian literary and cultural establishment, including Margaret Atwood, Adrienne Clarkson, John Ralston Saul, David Cronenberg and Yann Martel. Programs The Writers in Prison Committee advocates on behalf of 25-30 persecuted, imprisoned and murdered writers in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Non-profit Organization
A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or social benefit, as opposed to an entity that operates as a business aiming to generate a Profit (accounting), profit for its owners. A nonprofit organization is subject to the non-distribution constraint: any revenues that exceed expenses must be committed to the organization's purpose, not taken by private parties. Depending on the local laws, charities are regularly organized as non-profits. A host of organizations may be non-profit, including some political organizations, schools, hospitals, business associations, churches, foundations, social clubs, and consumer cooperatives. Nonprofit entities may seek approval from governments to be Tax exemption, tax-exempt, and some may also qualify to receive tax-deductible contributions, but an enti ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Margaret Atwood
Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian novelist, poet, literary critic, and an inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of nonfiction, nine collections of short fiction, eight children's books, two graphic novels, and a number of small press editions of both poetry and fiction. Her best-known work is the 1985 dystopian novel ''The Handmaid's Tale.'' Atwood has won numerous awards and honors for her writing, including two Booker Prizes, the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the Governor General's Award, the Franz Kafka Prize, Princess of Asturias Awards, and the Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award, National Book Critics and PEN Center USA Lifetime Achievement Awards. A number of her works have been adapted for film and television. Atwood's works encompass a variety of themes including gender and identity, religion and myth, the power of language, climate change, and "power politics". Many of her poems are inspired by myth ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Raif Badawi
Raif bin Muhammad Badawi (, also transcribed Raef bin Mohammed Badawi; born 13 January 1984) is a Saudi writer, dissident and activist, as well as the creator of the website ''Free Saudi Liberals''. Badawi was arrested in 2012 on a charge of "insulting Islam through electronic channels" and brought to court on several charges, including apostasy. In 2013, he was convicted on several charges and sentenced to seven years in prison, and 600 lashes. In 2014 his sentence was increased to 10 years in prison, 1,000 lashes, and a fine of one million Saudi riyals. The flogging was to be carried out over 20 weeks. The first 50 lashes were administered on 9 January 2015. The second flogging was postponed more than twelve times. The reason for the most recent postponement is unknown, but the previous scheduled floggings were delayed due to Badawi's poor health. Badawi is known to have hypertension, and his health worsened after the flogging began. His wife, Ensaf Haidar, who took refug ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Liu Xiaobo
Liu Xiaobo (; 28 December 1955 – 13 July 2017) was a Chinese literary criticism, literary critic, human rights activist, philosopher and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who called for political reforms and was involved in campaigns to end Chinese Communist Party one-party rule in China. He was arrested numerous times, and was described as China's most prominent dissident and the country's most famous political prisoner. On 26 June 2017, he was granted medical parole after being diagnosed with liver cancer; he died a few weeks later on 13 July 2017. Liu rose to fame in 1980s Chinese literary circles with his exemplary literary critiques. He eventually became a visiting scholar at several international universities. He returned to China to support the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and was imprisoned for the first time from 1989 to 1991, again from 1995 to 1996 and yet again from 1996 to 1999 for his involvement on suspicion of inciting subversion of state power. He served as t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Nasrin Sotoudeh
Nasrin Sotoudeh (Persian: نسرین ستوده) is an Iranian human rights lawyer known for her defense of activists, opposition politicians, and individuals facing human rights violations. She has represented Iranian opposition activists and politicians detained after the disputed June 2009 presidential elections and prisoners sentenced to death for crimes committed when they were minors. Her clients have included journalist Isa Saharkhiz, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi, and Heshmat Tabarzadi. She has also represented women arrested for appearing in public without a hijab, which is a punishable offense in Iran. Nasrin Sotoudeh was the subject of '' Nasrin'', a 2020 documentary filmed in secret in Iran about Sotoudeh's "ongoing battles for the rights of women, children and minorities." In 2021, she was named as of ''Times 100 Most Influential People in the World. Life Sotoudeh was arrested in September 2010 on charges of spreading propaganda and conspiring to ha ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sayed Pervez Kambaksh
Sayed Parwez Kambaksh (; other spelling variations being Parwiz, Parwez or Pervez Kambaksh) was born 24 July 1984 in Afghanistan. In late 2007, he was a student at Balkh University and a journalist for ''Jahan-e-Naw'' (''New World''), a daily. On 27 October 2007, police arrested Kambaksh, and accused him of "blasphemy and distribution of texts defamatory of Islam". The authorities claimed that Kambaksh had distributed writings posted on the Internet by Arash Bikhoda (Arash the atheist). Bikoda's writings criticize the treatment of women under Islamic law. On 22 January 2008, the Primary Court in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif sentenced Kambaksh to death for "blasphemy and distribution of texts defamatory of Islam". The court's chief judge said, "He insulted the prophet Mohammed. He called him a murderer and a womanizer." The court relied on Kambaksh's confession. Kambaksh denounced the confession as a product of torture. On 29 January 2008, the Upper House of Parliament issued ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lydia Cacho
Lydia María Cacho Ribeiro (born 12 April 1963) is a Mexican journalist, feminist, and human rights activist. Described by Amnesty International as "perhaps Mexico's most famous investigative journalist and women's rights advocate", Cacho's reporting focuses on violence against and sexual abuse of women and children. Her book '' Los Demonios del Edén'' (in English: ''The Demons of Eden'') (2004) created a nationwide scandal by alleging that several prominent businessmen had conspired to protect a pedophilia ring. In 2006, a tape emerged of a conversation between businessman Kamel Nacif Borge and Mario Plutarco Marín Torres, governor of Puebla, in which they conspired to have Cacho beaten and raped for her reporting. Marín Torres was arrested for the alleged torture on 3 February 2021. Cacho is the winner of numerous international awards for her journalism, including the Civil Courage Prize, the Wallenberg Medal, and the Olof Palme Prize. In 2010, she was named a World ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Zarganar
Maung Thura "Zarganar" (also called Zaganar, ; also Zargana, ); born 27 January 1961) is a popular Burmese comedian, film actor, and director as well as a fierce critic and often political prisoner of the Burmese military government. Known for his wicked puns against the ruling military junta, Zarganar, whose name translates to "tweezers", is widely considered to be the most popular comedian and satirist in Myanmar. In September 2006, Zarganar was banned indefinitely from performing publicly or participating in any kind of entertainment related work. He was arrested on 4 June 2008 for speaking to foreign media about the situation of millions of people left homeless after the extremely destructive Cyclone Nargis devastated the Irrawaddy Delta. In November 2008, he was sentenced to 59 years in prison, convicted of "public order offenses", under four sections of the criminal code—17/2, 32 (b), 295 (a) and 505 (b), much more than the anticipated maximum of two years. On 16 Feb ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jiang Weiping
Jiang Weiping (; born c. 1955) is a veteran mainland Chinese journalist known internationally for his arrest by the Chinese Communist Party in 2001. In 1999, he began publishing a series of articles about the Communist Party corruption in the Hong Kong magazine ''Frontline'' (), including a report on Bo Xilai. He was arrested in December 2000 and sentenced to eight years in prison on charges of revealing state secrets, but was granted early release in 2006. After a period of house arrest, he emigrated to Canada in 2009. Career in China Jiang is a graduate of the University of Liaoning, where he studied history. In the 1980s, he became a reporter for Xinhua News Agency. In 1984, he wrote his first story about official Bo Xilai, who was then a CCP official in a small town. In the early 1990s, Jiang became the Northeastern China bureau chief of the pro-Beijing Wen Wei Po newspaper in Hong Kong. In mid-1999, Jiang also published a series of eight reports in ''Front Line'', a Hong ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Canadian Charter Of Rights And Freedoms
The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' (), often simply referred to as the ''Charter'' in Canada, is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, forming the first part of the '' Constitution Act, 1982''. The ''Charter'' guarantees certain political rights to Canadian citizens and guarantees the civil rights of everyone in Canada. It is designed to unify Canadians around a set of principles that embody those rights. The ''Charter'' was proclaimed in force by Queen Elizabeth II of Canada on April 17, 1982, as part of the ''Constitution Act, 1982''. The ''Charter'' was preceded by the '' Canadian Bill of Rights'', enacted in 1960, which was a federal statute rather than a constitutional document. The ''Bill of Rights'' exemplified an international trend towards formalizing human rights protections following the United Nations' ''Universal Declaration of Human Rights'', instigated by the country's movement for human rights and freedoms that emerged af ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Day Of The Imprisoned Writer
The Day of the Imprisoned Writer is an annual, international day intended to recognize and support writers who resist repression of the basic human right to freedom of expression and who stand up to attacks made against their right to impart information. This day is observed each year on November 15. It was started in 1981 by PEN International's Writers in Prison Committee. In addition to increasing the public's awareness of persecuted writers in general, PEN uses the Day of the Imprisoned Writer to direct attention to several specific persecuted or imprisoned writers and their individual circumstances. Each of the selected writers is from a different part of the world, and each case represents circumstances of repression that occur when governments or other entities in power feel threatened by what writers have written. On this day, the general public is encouraged to take action—in the form of donations and letters of appeal—on behalf of the selected writers. The day ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Yann Martel
Yann Martel, (born June 25, 1963) is a Canadian author who wrote the Man Booker Prize–winning novel '' Life of Pi'', an international bestseller published in more than 50 territories. It has sold more than 12 million copies worldwide and spent more than a year on the bestseller lists of the ''New York Times'' and ''The Globe and Mail'', among many other best-selling lists. ''Life of Pi'' was adapted for a movie directed by Ang Lee, garnering four Oscars including Best Director and winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score. Martel is also the author of the novels '' The High Mountains of Portugal'',Knopf Canada: The High Mountains of Portugal Penguin Random House site. Retrieved 24 March 2016.Charles, Ron (21 January 2016 [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |