PEN International Writers in Prison Committee
(WiPC PEN International/IFEX) - 23 August 2012 - PEN International
continues to appeal to the Syrian authorities to stop the use of
excessive force in the ongoing crackdown on anti-government protests.
The crisis has now deepened and the numbers of victims on both sides of
the conflict continue to escalate. PEN has designed a series of three postcards featuring portraits and the work
of imprisoned and killed Syrian poets which you can send to Syrian
representatives in your country. They can also be used in publicity
events, as postcards or posters, to raise awareness and appealing for
the end of the Syrian conflict.
More than 20,000 civilians have been killed, several thousands have
been wounded and about two million have been displaced as a consequence
of the conflict. PEN has been working on highlighting the cases of
killed and imprisoned writers, poets, and journalists, by statements and
through our RAN network.
With the purpose of honouring Syrian colleagues through their
writings, PEN International has produced three postcards with brief
extracts and a short background of the cases of:
•Blogger and poet Dia'a Al-Abdulla, arrested from his home in February 2012, who remains incommunicado
•Poet and blogger Tal Al-Mallouhi, jailed since September 2009, sentenced to five years in prison
•Poet and singer Ibrahim Qashoush, kidnapped and killed in July 2011
What to do:
PEN International urges you to:
• Print: Please feel free to download the templates of the postcards from this link and to print them;
• Send: Send the postcards to the Syrian authorities via your nearest diplomatic representative of Syria;
• Campaign: Use these materials in any other way
you can, whether by hosting events in solidarity with these writers and
their families, approaching the media to raise your concerns about the
Syrian crisis, reading sessions at literary events, etc.
Click and read:
Click here to find a link to protesters using Qashoush's songs in YouTube
A PEN statement on the ongoing conflict in Syria
The most recent alert issued by the WiPC on Syria
A statement by Syrian writer Khaled Khalifa
For further information please contact Cathy McCann at PEN
International Writers in Prison Committee, Tel.+ 44 (0) 20 7405 0338,
email: cathy.mccann (@) pen-international.org.
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