PEN Points: Judge tosses suit that tried to deem books obscene for kids

Cropped photo of a person reading Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe

AP Photo/Rick Bowmer

Judge Tosses Suit that Tried to Deem Books Obscene for Kids

A judge in Virginia dismissed a lawsuit Tuesday that had sought to declare two books—Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe and A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas— as obscene for children and to restrict their distribution to minors, including by booksellers and libraries. The judge wrote that restricting the books’ distribution would authorize “prior restraint” of speech and violate the First Amendment. The judge also described concerns about prosecuting someone who didn’t know they were selling or loaning books that were deemed to be obscene.

Nadine Farid Johnson, managing director of PEN America’s Washington office and Free Expression Programs, said, “This decision is a victory for our Constitution and the vast majority of Americans who believe in preserving a free society and unfettered access to literature. The open exchange of ideas is fundamental to our democracy.” Read the full statement.

U.S. Free Expression Stories

An Oklahoma teacher gave her students access to banned books. Now she's under scrutiny
Oklahoma's top education official wants to strip a former teacher of her credentials after she tried to give students access to books that may be banned in schools under a new state law.
NPR

QAnon accounts found a home, and Trump’s support, on Truth Social
Dozens of QAnon-boosting accounts decamped to Truth Social this year after they were banned by other social networks and have found support from the platform’s creator, former President Donald J. Trump, according to a report released on Monday.
THE NEW YORK TIMES

California approves bill to punish doctors who spread false information
Weighing into the fierce national debate over Covid-19 prevention and treatments, the state would be the first to try a legal remedy for vaccine disinformation.
THE NEW YORK TIMES

The Latest from PEN America

Words on Fire: Writing, Freedom, and the Future
Monday Sept. 12 | 4 pm
New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024

Join PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel and President Ayad Akhtar for an afternoon of public conversation with world-renowned authors and staunch advocates for the freedom to write including Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Margaret Atwood, Jennifer Finney Boylan, Dave Eggers, and Salman Rushdie*. The speakers will reflect on milestone moments in PEN America's history and current-day silencing, charting the ways in which writing and free speech are being challenged through book bans, educational gag orders, online harassment, self-censorship, and the detention of journalists and artists worldwide. Reserve your seat.

∗ PEN America is working with those closest to Salman Rushdie to determine how the Symposium can best honor his work and voice as he recovers from severe injuries sustained in an attack chillingly linked to the themes of this event and PEN America’s work to defend and celebrate free expression.

A mockup of Jenny Holzer's installation SPEECH ITSELF at Rockefeller Center

SPEECH ITSELF: Jenny Holzer Installation at Rockefeller Center
Wednesday, Sept. 14 – Sunday, Sept. 18 | 8pm – 10pm ET
Rockefeller Center
45 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10111

On five nights in September, the renowned artist Jenny Holzer will celebrate PEN America’s century-long defense of the written word with a powerful new series of light projections. The facades of 30 Rockefeller Plaza and 610 and 620 Fifth Avenue will be lit with selected passages from gifted writers and artists who have supported PEN America’s vital work to protect free expression, including Ayad Akhtar, Kwame Anthony Appiah, Margaret Atwood, Ron Chernow, Henry Louis Gates Jr., Joy Harjo, Jhumpa Lahiri, Yoon Ha Lee, Toni Morrison, Alejandro Zambra, and Nadya Tolokonnikova of the performance art group Pussy Riot. Learn more.

Global Free Expression Stories

U.N. says China may have committed “crimes against humanity” in Xinjiang
In a long-awaited report released on Wednesday, the United Nations’ human rights office accused China of serious human rights violations that “may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity,” in its mass detention of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim groups in its far western region of Xinjiang.
THE NEW YORK TIMES

Saudi woman gets 45 years in prison for social media use
A Saudi court has sentenced a woman to 45 years in prison for allegedly damaging the country through her social media activity, according to a court document obtained Wednesday. It was the second such sentence that has drawn scrutiny of the kingdom this month.
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Insiders reveal how Erdogan tamed Turkey’s newsrooms
The Turkish mainstream media, once a more lively clash of ideas, has become a tight chain of command of government-approved headlines, front pages and topics of TV debate. Interviews with dozens of sources in the media, government officials and regulators portray an industry that has fallen in line with other formerly independent institutions that Erdogan has bent to his will, including, his critics say, the judiciary, military, central bank and large parts of the education system.
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Spotlight: Abduljalil Al Singace

Abduljalil al-Singace taking part in March of royal court in Riffa

Blogger and academic Al-Singace is serving a life sentence in Bahrain for his human rights activism, including his involvement in pro-democracy protests during the Arab Spring. Suffering from post-polio syndrome, his health has severely declined during his detention. He began a hunger strike in July 2021 to protest poor conditions, mistreatment, and confiscation of his writing at Jau prison.

Abduljalil Al-Singace was visited by his family on July 31, 2022. During this visit, he reported that he continued to suffer from denial of adequate medical treatment and he is still on a hunger strike (without solid food) which has neared around 400 days while his health continues to deteriorate. Below is an excerpt from his 2009 New York Times op-ed, “Promises Kept”:

Those who seek “change” here pay dearly. I was arrested at dawn last January, held in solitary confinement and accused of trying to overthrow the kingdom’s regime. After international and local pressure I was released and pardoned, but my case is still technically suspended. My two blogs and Facebook posts are blocked and people in Bahrain do not have direct access to them.

Learn more about Al-Singace’s case.

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