PEN Points: Veteran journalist in Las Vegas murdered

Clark County Public Administrator Robert "Rob" Telles is escorted into court, Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022, in Las Vegas. Telles was arrested Wednesday in the fatal stabbing of Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German, whose investigations of the official's work preceded his primary loss in June. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Public Official Held in Connection with Murder of Las Vegas Reporter

A veteran investigative journalist who was stabbed to death had the alleged killer’s DNA underneath his fingernails and defensive wounds, a prosecutor and a judge said Thursday at the accused man’s initial court appearance—in a chilling case that has raised concerns about press freedoms in America. Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles, 45, was arrested Wednesday in connection with the killing of Review-Journal reporter Jeff German, days after the reporter was found stabbed to death outside his home.

In response to the arrest, PEN America issued a statement from Washington Managing Director Nadine Farid Johnson, who said, “The possibility that German may have been murdered by a government official in retaliation for his work as an investigative journalist is horrifying and deeply disturbing. It demands a resounding response from political leaders to commit to defending the freedom of the press and the safety of journalists.” Read the full statement.

U.S. Free Expression Stories

How book bans turned a Texas town upside down
In a political environment where book-banning efforts are being used to drive voter sentiment, librarians in Texas find themselves on the front lines. Learn more about what PEN America is doing for Banned Books Week 2022.
THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE

Why charges will not be dropped against hundreds of Breonna Taylor protesters
Jefferson County's top prosecutor will not drop charges against Breonna Taylor protesters whose cases are still making their way through court, despite renewed calls to do so. On Wednesday, several protest organizers met at Jefferson Square Park to demand all remaining cases be dismissed, stating new information that continues to be uncovered around Taylor's death shows Louisville police have repeatedly lied to the community and investigators.
LOUISVILLE COURIER JOURNAL

When teens find misinformation, these teachers are ready
Media literacy efforts are intensifying, targeting students as they approach voting age. But some educators struggle “to push through that apathy.”
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. While this event is at capacity for in-person attendees, you can still tune in via the livestream.

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.

Banned Books Week
Sunday, Sept. 18 - Saturday, Sept. 24

As PEN America celebrates our 100th anniversary defending the freedom to read and write, book bans and restrictions are on the rise in classrooms and libraries across the country. We invite readers, authors, educators, librarians, and everyone who opposes censorship in America to get involved during Banned Books Week 2022. Learn more about PEN America’s groundbreaking research, this year’s events, and how you can help us #FreeTheBooks!

Protest in Myanmar against military coup, February 2021

PEN America Calls for the Release of Myanmar Writer-Activist Wai Moe Naing

PEN America issued a statement from Karin Deutsch Kariekar, director of Free Expression at Risk programs, calling for the release of Myanmar writer Wai Moe Naing, who was convicted and sentenced by a military court on Aug. 12 to 10 years in prison on multiple charges of “incitement.” “The sentencing of Wai Moe Naing following months of arbitrary detention and an unfair trial blatantly flouts international judicial standards and reveals the Myanmar junta’s deliberate effort to silence dissent and enforce an oppressive regime of military rule,” said Karlekar. Read the full statement.

Global Free Expression Stories

Iran condemns two women to death for “corruption” over LGBTQ+ media links
Two women have been condemned to death in Iran because of their links to the LGBTQ+ community on social media, human rights groups have reported.
THE GUARDIAN

5 Hong Kong speech therapists found guilty of sedition over children’s books
Five Hong Kong speech therapists have been found guilty of breaching the colonial-era sedition law by printing a series of children’s books about sheep and wolves. The publications were said to have spread separatism and incited hatred against the authorities.
HONG KONG FREE PRESS

Israeli military admits Shireen Abu Akleh likely killed by Israeli fire, but won’t charge soldiers
The Israel Defense Forces have admitted for the first time that there is a “high possibility” Palestinian-American Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot and killed by Israeli fire while covering an Israeli military operation in Jenin in May, the IDF announced Monday. Read PEN America’s statement.
CNN

Spotlight: Arash Ganji

Arash Ganji is a prominent writer, translator, and the Secretary of the Iranian Writers’ Association (IWA), which advocates for freedom of expression and an end to censorship.He was sentenced to 11 years in prison on national security charges related to his translation of a book about a Kurdish-led uprising in northern Syria titled A Small Key Can Open a Big Door.

He is serving five years in prison, the maximum sentence of the charges against him. Ganji was recently transferred from Evin prison in Tehran to Rajaee-shahr prison in Karaj. PEN America is concerned that his transfer to Rajaee-shahr prison in Karaj may be retaliatory and in relation to false accusations regarding his activities while imprisoned.

Ganji’s imprisonment is part of a broader government campaign against the Iranian Writers’ Association (IWA), which advocates for freedom of expression and an end to censorship. Prominent IWA members include the 2021 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Honorees Reza Khandan Mahabadi, Keyvan Bajan,and Baktash Abtin. In January, Abtin died from COVID-19, which he contracted while imprisoned at Evin prison.

Below is a quote from a video presentation recorded by Ganji for the PEN Sydney Annual General Meeting in 2021.

“I know very well that real freedom of expression cannot be guaranteed simply by being mentioned on a piece of paper and we should not see that as an ultimate solution. But the lack of those guarantees gives governments a free hand to attack that freedom violently.”

Watch and read the full presentation here.

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