28. Sep 2011

'The Dissident Blog' has published its second volume

The second issue of Swedish PEN's new literary project, The Dissident Blog, is available now. The Dissident Blog's mission is to foster an environment of free speech throughout the world by publishing works that are otherwise censored or banned in the authors' home countries. The current issue focuses on writers in prison.

This edition features a letter from Muharrem Erbey, a Kurdish author and lawyer who has been locked away in the Turkish prison Diyarbakir since 2009, presumably for speaking out on the state of Kurdish oppression during a visit to Sweden. Additional pieces include ICORN writer Philo Ikonya's explanation of the current attitude towards freedom of expression (or lack thereof) in Kenya; a Congolese journalist exposes the crackdown on reporters in the run-up to elections in Kinshasa; Syrian activist Samar Yazbek offers up a selection from the diary she has kept during the ongoing unrest in her country; and Shaun de Waal reveals how a new law may limit the press' freedom of speech in South Africa.

For more information about how to publish in The Dissident Blog, contact Swedish PEN or write directly to elnaz.baghlanian@svenskapen.se.