Arundhati Roy writes on politics of 'perfect majority', 'satanic minority'

'As elections approach... 'expect more arrests, lynching, killing', Roy says in a letter to arrested Bangladeshi writer Shahidul Alam, on PEN International's Day of the Imprisoned Writers

Each year, PEN International highlights the cases of five persecuted writers – be they imprisoned, facing prosecution or otherwise at risk – that are emblematic of the type of threats and attacks faced by writers and journalists around the world.

Arundhati Roy : This year, PEN International is campaigning for Dawit Isaak imprisoned in Eritrea, Miroslava Breach Velducea killed in Mexico, Oleg Sentsov imprisoned in Russia, Shahidul Alam detained in Bangladesh and Wael Abbas imprisoned in Egypt. Writers David Lagercrantz, Jennifer Clement, Tom Stoppard, Salil Tripathi and Khaled Hosseini are taking part in this year’s campaign. To join PEN’s action, click here.

Here is the full text of Roy’s letter to Shahidul Alam