PEN Hails Release of Syrian Writer Mazen Darwish

Shelf Awareness

Mazen Darwish

English PEN and PEN International welcomed the release Wednesday of Syrian activist and journalist Mazen Darwish, the 2014 PEN Pinter Prize winner who was arrested more than three years ago with colleagues Hani Al-Zitani and Huseein Gharir, when Syrian Air Force Intelligence raided the offices of the Syrian Centre for Media and Free Expression in Damascus. Al-Zitani and Huseein Gharir were released last month, but still face charges. Darwish, founding president of SCM, must attend a court hearing scheduled for August 31.

Salman Rushdie, who chose to share the 2014 PEN Pinter Prize with Darwish, said, "I'm delighted by this good news--congratulations to Mazen Darwish and his family, and to English PEN for so energetically, and successfully, highlighting and pursuing his case."

Calling the release "wonderful news," Jo Glanville, director of English PEN, expressed relief and praised Yara Bader, Darwish's wife and director of SCM, for being "a great inspiration to us all throughout the campaign for his release and we hope that they will be reunited very soon. However, we also remain concerned for Mazen and his colleagues Hani al-Zitani and Hussein Gharir and will continue to call for charges against them to be dropped immediately and unconditionally."