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PEN International deeply saddened by death of former International President, Jiří Gruša
PEN International | 31 October 2011
PEN International deeply saddened by death of former International President, Jirí Gruša.
"Persecuted and imprisoned for his beliefs, Jirí Gruša was the living embodiment of PEN's devotion to freedom of expression and literature. He was beloved by all of us and we will miss him." - John Ralston Saul, PEN International President.
Jirí Gruša served as President of PEN International from 2003-2009. He will be remembered by all at PEN for his love of literature and his committed promotion of the ideals of PEN. Speaking of his role as International President he described his focus as: "My priorities are communication and openness. It is important to stress that freedom of expression is actually freedom from hatred."
A well-respected Czech writer and diplomat, Jirí Gruša demonstrated great bravery and quiet determination throughout his life. He was persecuted by the communist regime in response to his novel Mimner in 1969 and was arrested in 1978 following his novel The Questionnaire. He protested against the totalitarian regime of of the former Czechoslovakia, signing up in 1977 to Charter 77. Since the 1990s he held a diplomatic and political career as Czechoslovak and then Czech Ambassador to Germany and Austria and subsequently as Education Minister in the Czech Republic.
"He was a champion all his life for freedom of expression. It is a great loss to all of us." - Hori Takeaki, PEN International Secretary
He died aged 72 on Friday October 28th during heart surgery in Germany.
Our thoughts and condolences are with his wife Sabine, all his friends and family and with our colleagues in Czech PEN at this time.
Laura McVeigh
Executive Director
PEN International
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Celebrating 90 years of promoting literature and defending freedom of expression
International PEN is trading as PEN International. International PEN is a company registered in England and Wales with registration number 05683997. International PEN is a registered charity in England and Wales with registration number 1117088. International PEN’s registered office is Brownlow House, 50-51 High Holborn, London, WC1V 6ER, UK
