Author | Lightnews

Scottish PEN @scottishpen.bsky.social · 21h

British journalist #SamiHandi detained by US authorities for days without access to a judge.
The British state has a duty to act when one of its citizens has been interned for exercising #freedomofexpression
Why has the Foreign Office remained silent?
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...

UK journalist Sami Hamdi detained in US amid pro-Israel lobby pressure

Far-right activist and Donald Trump ally Laura Loomer celebrates Hamdi’s detention as US gov't says he's in ICE custody.

www.aljazeera.com

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Scottish PEN @scottishpen.bsky.social · 2d

"The night Basim Khandakji’s novel won the 2024 “Arabic Booker Prize”, Israeli prison guards stormed his cell, assaulted him, bound his hands & feet, & threatened him."
Exiled in Egypt after 21 years in Israeli prisons, Khandakji keeps writing
#FreePalestine
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...

Award-winning Palestinian author on Israeli prison, exile and homeland

Basim Khandakji describes conditions in Israeli prisons and his journey to writing despite the challenges.

www.aljazeera.com

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Scottish PEN @scottishpen.bsky.social · 13d

#DaphneCaruanaGalizia was assassinated in Malta 8 years ago today.
Scottish PEN supports the call by 17 press freedom & journalists' organisations for #Malta to set up a national action plan on media freedom & journalist safety.
#JusticeForDaphne
@peninternational.bsky.social @rsf.org

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PEN International @peninternational.bsky.social · 13d

We welcome the news that two PEN International cases, Jimmy Lai and Mzia Amaglobeli, are included amongst the recipients of the 2025 World Press Freedom Hero awards by the IPI in partnership with IMS

We reiterate our calls for their immediate and unconditional freedom.

ipi.media/2025-world-p...

Seven distinguished journalists named recipients of the 2025 IPI-IMS World Press Freedom Hero award

Awards to be presented at IPI’s 75th anniversary World Congress in Vienna on October 24

ipi.media

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Scottish PEN @scottishpen.bsky.social · 18d

(3) scottishpen.org/statement-on...

Statement on the Arrest of Scottish PEN Vice-President

scottishpen.org

Scottish PEN @scottishpen.bsky.social · 18d

(1) scottishpen.org/proscribing-...
Scottish PEN also stands in solidarity with our Vice President @lizzie4.bsky.social, arrested under the Terrorism Act (2)

Proscribing Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation threatens fundamental rights

scottishpen.org

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Scottish PEN @scottishpen.bsky.social · 18d

“It is a maxim in Scots law that the law cannot be absurd. To claim that Palestine Action is a terrorist organisation is plainly absurd." @craigmurrayorg.bsky.social

Scottish PEN, @peninternational.bsky.social @englishpen.bsky.social & #WalesPENCymru oppose the proscription of Palestine Action (1)

The National @scotnational.bsky.social · 18d

Campaigners have launched a bid to overturn the ban on Palestine Action through the Scottish courts

Bid to overturn Palestine Action ban through Scottish courts launched

www.thenational.scot

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PEN International @peninternational.bsky.social · Sep 19

#USA: PEN International joins PEN America in condemning the FCC’s threats to Jimmy Kimmel Live! as a dangerous escalation of government-instigated censorship.

PEN America @penamerica.bsky.social · Sep 18

An “Extraordinary Assault” on Free Speech: FCC Threats Mark a “Dark New Level of Capitulation” and Escalation of Government-Instigated Censorship Over Jimmy Kimmel, PEN America Warns
pen.org/press-releas... #FreeSpeech #FirstAmendment

FCC Threats Mark a “Dark New Level of Capitulation” and Escalation of Government-Instigated Censorship Over Jimmy Kimmel, PEN America Warns

PEN America warned today of a significant escalation of threats to free speech after Disney-owned ABC indefinitely pulled “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” from the air.

pen.org

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PEN International @peninternational.bsky.social · Sep 19

#Mozambique: PEN International welcomes the acquittal of writer & publisher Alex Barga, freed after 9 months of unlawful detention on fabricated charges.

We urge authorities to end the weaponisation of justice against civic freedoms.

Read our statement ⬇️

www.pen-international.org/news/mozambi...

Mozambique: Justice served as writer, editor and publisher Alex Barga is acquitted — PEN International | Promoting Literature & Defending Freedom of Expression Worldwide

“The dismissal of the fabricated case against Alex Barga and his colleagues is welcome news! The bold action by the Maputo City Judicial Court is a testament to the vital place and role of independent...

www.pen-international.org

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PEN International @peninternational.bsky.social · Sep 19

At our 91st Congress in Kraków, Centres adopted a landmark Resolution condemning the ongoing escalating attacks on freedom of expression in the United States — from book bans to threats against press freedom.

Read the full resolution ⬇️

www.pen-international.org/news/pen-int...

PEN International’s resolutions to defend free expression, gender diversity, human rights, and climate justice — PEN International | Promoting Literature & Defending Freedom of Expression Worldwide

“At this 91st Congress we affirmed that freedom of expression cannot be atomized —whether in defending peace against authoritarianism, protecting our planet, standing with trans and gender-diverse peo...

www.pen-international.org

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PEN International @peninternational.bsky.social · Sep 22

We join @pressfreedom.bsky.social in condemning Israel’s killing of 31 Yemeni journalists and media workers, the deadliest attack on the press in 16 years. Journalists are civilians and must be protected under international law. We call for accountability and end to impunity. @penmena.bsky.social

Committee to Protect Journalists @pressfreedom.bsky.social · Sep 19

Israel’s targeted strikes on two newspaper offices in Yemen’s capital is the second deadliest single attack on the press ever recorded by CPJ, following the 2009 Maguindanao massacre in the Philippines. Read more: cpj.org?p=522184

Israel’s killing of 31 Yemeni journalists marks deadliest global attack in 16 years - Committee to Protect Journalists

Washington, D.C., September 19, 2025—Israel’s targeted strikes on two newspaper offices in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, which killed 31 journalists and media support workers on September 10, signal that it...

cpj.org

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PEN International @peninternational.bsky.social · Sep 22

#Egypt: We welcome reports that British-Egyptian writer, activist & PEN's case Alaa Abd el-Fattah has been granted a presidential pardon after 6 years unjustly imprisoned for his words. We await his release and will be monitoring the situation in the coming days. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...

British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah to be freed from prison

Reports say writer, who has served six years for liking a Facebook post, has also been given a presidential pardon

www.theguardian.com

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Scottish PEN @scottishpen.bsky.social · Aug 29

Lizzie Eldridge, the chair of Scottish PEN’s Writers At Risk Committee, was recently interviewed by Palestine International Broadcast in her capacity as a writer and activist.

The full interview is available below.

youtu.be/JiNIuLvjios

Lizzie Eldridge: Israeli Genocide Must Come to End

YouTube video by Palestine Broadcast International

youtu.be

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Scottish PEN @scottishpen.bsky.social · Aug 26

Scottish PEN has issued a statement regarding the arrest of award-winning Scottish screenwriter Paul Laverty and calling on the authorities to respect the legitimate right of people to protest in support of the ideal of one humanity living in peace in one world 👇
scottishpen.org/statement-on...

Paul Laverty, Ken Loach and activists protesting at the Edinburgh Film Festival. (Photo credit: Ken Loach and Sixteen Films)

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The National @scotnational.bsky.social · Aug 25

BREAKING: Award-winning Scottish screenwriter Paul Laverty has been arrested after wearing a T-shirt reading 'Genocide in Palestine, time to take action'

Police arrested the I, Daniel Blake writer in Edinburgh this morning

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Scottish PEN @scottishpen.bsky.social · Aug 10

On 16 August, Scottish PEN presents Eman Al Haj Ali talking about her recent experiences in Gaza and the deliberate targeting of Palestinian journalists.

This event will take place in person at The Ark in Glasgow and by Zoom video. Find out more and register: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/eman-al-ha...

Eman Al Haj Ali - We won’t be silenced (in person and by Zoom)

Eman Al Haj Ali talks about her recent experiences in Gaza and the deliberate targeting of Palestinian journalists

www.eventbrite.co.uk

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Association for Scottish Literature @asls.org.uk · Aug 9

I stand neither in the wilderness
nor fairyland

but in the fold
of a green hill

the tilt from one parish
into another…

—Kathleen Jamie, “The Wishing Tree”
SELECTED POEMS (Picador, 2018)
#BookWormSat #poem

Hear “The Wishing Tree” on @thepoetryarchive.bsky.social
poetryarchive.org/poem/wishing...

The Wishing Tree
by Kathleen Jamie

I stand neither in the wilderness
nor fairyland

but in the fold
of a green hill

the tilt from one parish
into another.

To look at me
through a smirr of rain

is to taste the iron
in your own blood

because I hoard
the common currency

of longing: each wish
each secret assignation.

My limbs lift, scabbed
with greenish coins

I draw into my slow wood
fleur-de-lys, the enthroned Brittania.

Behind me, the land
reaches towards the Atlantic.

And though I’m poisoned
choking on the small change

of human hope,
daily beaten into me

look: I am still alive –
in fact, in bud.

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The Edinburgh Bookshop @edinburghbookshop.bsky.social · Aug 9

Happy opening day to our chums at @edbookfest.bsky.social !!! #Edinburgh is always a book lover's paradise, but August is even more special for our UNESCO City of Literature.

www.edbookfest.co.uk?gad_source=1...

Home | Edinburgh International Book Festival

www.edbookfest.co.uk

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Out-Spoken Press @outspokenpress.bsky.social · Aug 9

🚨 Haia Mohammed on @bbclondon.bsky.social nNews yesterday from Gⓐza on hoping to take up her Goldsmiths scholarship in September & the biometric visa block.

🚨 Please amplify & write your MP to encourage the govt to see sense.

Letter template: bit.ly/44SLnX9

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Middle East Eye (Unofficial) @middleeasteye-rss.bsky.social · Aug 8

‘They used my chain to choke me’: Chris Smalls speaks out after Israeli prison assault - https://www.middleeasteye.net/video/they-used-my-chain-choke-me-chris-smalls-speaks-out-after-israeli-prison-assault-real-talk

‘They used my chain to choke me’: Chris Smalls speaks out after Israeli prison assault

“What I experienced is a glimpse of what Palestinians have to go through.” Prominent labour activist Chris Smalls speaks out after returning to his home in the United States following his detention in an Israeli prison. Weeks ago, Smalls decided to join the Handala flotilla, which sailed towards Gaza in an attempt to break Israel’s siege. Now, after Israeli forces intercepted the ship in international waters, Smalls says he was singled out, violently assaulted and racially abused by Israeli forces. Following his return home, Smalls joined us on Real Talk to open up about what really happened.

www.middleeasteye.net

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Middle East Eye (Unofficial) @middleeasteye-rss.bsky.social · Aug 8

France condemns Netanyahu's Gaza takeover plan - https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/france-condemns-netanyahus-gaza-takeover-plan

France condemns Netanyahu's Gaza takeover plan

<article data-history-node-id="426919" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/france-condemns-netanyahus-gaza-takeover-plan" class="live-blog-update default clearfix"> <h2> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/france-condemns-netanyahus-gaza-takeover-plan" rel="bookmark"> <span class="field field-title">France condemns Netanyahu's Gaza takeover plan</span> </a> </h2> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-field-text"><p>French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on X on Friday that his country "strongly condemns the Israeli government's plan aimed at preparing for the complete occupation of Gaza".</p> <p>"Such an operation would worsen an already catastrophic situation without enabling the release of Hamas hostages, its disarmament, or its surrender," he wrote. </p> </div> </div> </article>

www.middleeasteye.net

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Amnesty International UK @amnestyuk.bsky.social · Aug 8

Israel’s horrifying plans to take over Gaza City will lead to more death and destruction.

States, like the UK and US, have enabled this escalation by transferring arms and failing to take concrete action to stop the genocidal assault on occupied Gaza.

Image shows people displaced by conflict and fleeing from Beit Hanun in the northern Gaza Strip arrive carrying their belongings in Gaza City with the words "There is nowhere safe in Gaza" written

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Kim McNeill •📚🌿☕️ @joiedevivre9.bsky.social · Aug 8

Tove Jansson's birthday is tomorrow 🎉🥳 & @nyrb-imprints.bsky.social is celebrating with a sale on her books! www.nyrb.com/collections/...

Tove Jansson

Tove Jansson (1914–2001) was born in Helsinki into Finland’s Swedish-speaking minority. Her father was a sculptor and her mother a graphic designer and illustrator. Winters were spent in the family’s ...

www.nyrb.com

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PEN Canada @pencanada.bsky.social · Aug 7

From longtime PEN member, Luis Horacio Nájera, comes a weekly podcast on #Mexico, journalism, and life lessons learned along the way.

"Dos Amigos" is available in Spotify and Apple podcasts.

Give it a listen: buff.ly/9micFNG

Dos Amigos: Ideas que florecen del desierto

Podcast · Enrique Lomas y Horacio Nájera · Enrique Lomas y Horacio Nájera son dos amigos que comparten el amor a la vida, al periodismo y a los atardeceres en el desierto. Por muchos años, Enrique y…

open.spotify.com

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Lighthouse - Edinburgh's Radical Bookshop @lighthousebks.bsky.social · Aug 4

Edinburgh - this Book Fringe chat with Mahmoud & Matthew about Gaza and Palestinian culture is Tuesday 12th, 1pm, and it is FREE, join us!

(or watch online! Because yes, it'll be livestreamed like all our Book Fringe gigs!)
lighthousebookshop.com/events/stori...

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