PEN International 94d ago

Ma Thida, Chair of PEN International’s Writers in Prison Committee, speaks with journalist and activist Samira Mohyeddin at PEN International’s 91st Congress in Kraków about imprisonment, solidarity, and the meaning of PEN’s Empty Chair. Having once been represented by an Empty Chair herself during her imprisonment in Myanmar, Ma Thida reflects on what it means today to support other writers at risk through PEN’s work. “I usually say that after I was released from prison, I was demoted from the position of the Empty Chair,” she says — a remark that reflects both humour and the enduring responsibility she feels toward those still imprisoned. They discuss PEN International’s global work to defend writers who are imprisoned, persecuted, or threatened for their work, and why solidarity, visibility, and collective advocacy remain central to defending freedom of expression worldwide. Unbound Voices is a series of powerful conversations exploring today’s most urgent issues — from censorship and climate justice to LGBTQ+ rights, women’s voices, and Indigenous perspectives.