The Empty Chair

I hosted an event in the Scottish Parliament organized by Scottish PEN which focused on the continuing imprisonment of the Saudi Arabian Blogger Raif Badawi .

I have been a member of PEN for many years but I was excited to see tonight how dynamic it has become again in Scotalnd and how committed it is to campaign for writers who are imprisoned , abused and threatened.

This little empty chair was placed in the corner of the Committee Room in the Parliament tonight to remind all of us of those who are absent from their families and their society because they have had the courage to speak truth to power and who because they refuse to be silenced.

It is a powerful image.