A JOURNALIST jailed in his African homeland for 'insulting' the government after interviewing a rape victim helped launch a writers' body in Talgarth.

Abdiaziz Ibrahim spent 66 days in prison in 2013 after interviewing a woman who claimed to have been raped by government soldiers in a displaced persons camp in Somalia.

"In Somalia journalist are always at risk, because of the environment of the civil war, because of armed people, including the government," said Abdiaziz of a climate where attempting to report the news saw him jailed and others killed.

After his release Abdiaziz was granted political asylum in the UK and now lives in London. He joined local writer and human rights researcher Ben Rawlence at the Tabernacle in Talgarth to support the launch of http://walespencymru.org/&quot">http://walespencymru.org/" target="_blank">PEN Cymru.

The international body for writers campaigns and defends free expression. Last year it awarded 27-year-old Abdiaziz the PEN International Oxfam Novib Freedom of Expression award.

At the Tabernacle, the chapel converted to a live music and events venue, Abdiaziz was interviewed by Ben, who lives in Talgarth. Ben was based in Somalia in January 2013 when Abdiaziz was arrested and jailed. He supported the successful campaign, which made headlines across the world, to release Abdiaziz.

Ben, who is the author of 'Radio Congo: Signals of Hope from Africa's Deadliest War', has recently completed his most recent non fiction book, 'City of Thorns'.

It tells the story of 500,000 Somalis who live in the world's biggest refuge camp, in Kenya.

"It's a city the size of Bristol and they've been there 25 years and they're not going anywhere because the war's not going anywhere," said Ben of the giant camp.

Talgarth based Poet Owen Sheers, who is the English language chair of PEN Cymru, said efforts to establish a Welsh branch of PEN stretch back 60 years.

"When I came back to Wales I knew one of the first things I wanted to do was establish a PEN centre but I had no idea how much support there'd be but it shows how healthy literature is in Wales that we've got over 50 members already," said Owen who has twice won the prestigious Wales Book of the Year award.

Owen described the event at Talgarth as an example of PEN's work in providing a platform for writers from across the globe. He said: "We're quite used to seeing authors take the stage when they are selling a book but writers also perform another role, which is to provoke and encourage discussion and engagement in society."