Freedom of speech exhibition opened

An exhibition to commemorate imprisoned and exiled writers has been opened at Edinburgh’s Writers' Museum.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of International PEN’s Writers in Prison (WIP) Commitee. The exhibition is titled 'Writers in Prison: a Scottish PEN exhibition on campaigning for free expression' and features a display called the Empty Chair, which was co-created by pupils from Lomond School in Helensburgh.

The Scottish PEN uses the Empty Chair to remind everyone that there are writers all over the world who are being condemned for practicing a human right to express their thoughts and opinions freely. The people who prosecute them are authoritative figures who abuse their power to censor writers’ voices.

The well-crafted chair has been taken to literary events and festivals around the country and symbolises the absence of writers who were not able to attend the events.

Councillor Deidre Brock, Culture and Leisure Convenor for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: "The Writers' Museum has been proud to host Scottish PEN since 2005 and we are delighted to be displaying this fascinating and poignant 'Writers in Prison' exhibition.

“Here in Scotland, we perhaps take freedom of expression somewhat for granted; this hard-hitting display brings home how different things are in other parts of the world, where writers and journalists have been incarcerated, tortured or even murdered simply for expressing their views."

The exhibition, alongside the Empty Chair, provides an insight in to the techniques used by imprisoned writers to smuggle their writings out of prison. Some of these methods include using toilet paper, cigarettes and bars of soap.

Jean Rafferty, Scottish PEN’s WIP Committee Convenor, said: "This exhibition focuses on the campaigning of the WIP Committee who work to combat repression and to support individual writers. It is not a dry and dusty look at the principle of free expression, but shows the people who fight and suffer for the right to speak their minds."

The event comes at a relevant time with the recent sentencing of Liu Xiaobo who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, despite objections from the Chinese Government.

Mr Xiaobo, the President of the Independent Chinese PEN, was sentenced on Christmas Day 2009 to 11 years imprisonment. His crime was an ‘incitement to subversion’ where he wrote 224 characters - seven sentences - on a document requesting political reform and human rights.

The exhibition is on display at the Writers' Museum until April 2011. Admission is free.