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The report, "Connecting the Dots: Artist Protection & Artistic Freedom in Asia", captures growing anxiety over efforts to stifle artistic expression in 19 countries in South, Southeast, Central, and East Asia
Threats against free expression and artistic freedom in Asia are rising, with artists increasingly vulnerable to violent attacks, censorship, and persecution, stemming in some cases from laws restricting digital security rights and suppressing criticism of government and ruling parties, according to a new publication from PEN America’s Artist at Risk Connection (ARC), in partnership with the Mekong Cultural Hub (MCH) and the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA).
PEN America has condemned Myanmar authorities for detaining Htein Lin, the Burmese artist and former political prisoner, and Vicky Bowman, the former British ambassador to Myanmar,on arbitrary charges and called for their immediate release in Yangon. The married couple were charged with immigration offenses, and sent to Myanmar’s notorious Insein prison. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
Burmese artist and former political prisoner Htein Lin, and Vicky Bowman, the former British ambassador to Myanmar, were arrested on arbitrary charges in Yangon.