Members' Business - Ivan McKee MSP: The Day of the Imprisoned Writer, 15 November

That the Parliament acknowledges that, each year, 15 November marks the Day of the Imprisoned Writer, which commemorates writers around the world who have been imprisoned, threatened or attacked for exercising their right to freedom of expression, and takes action on their behalf; notes with grave concern what it sees as the decline worldwide in free expression, as documented by organisations such as Reporters Without Borders, Amnesty International, PEN International, Committee to Protect Journalists and Human Rights Watch; acknowledges the importance of defending and supporting free expression for every person in Scotland and of protecting persons persecuted around the world, by state and non-state actors, for exercising their right to free speech; notes the view that governmental, intergovernmental and civil society partners at home and abroad should work together to secure protections for writers and others who are persecuted for exercising their right to freedom of expression, and further notes calls for the day to be officially recognised every year by the Parliament.