A Palestinian novelist, Abbad Yahya, is in hiding somewhere in the Middle East due to public outcry surrounding his controversial fourth novel, Crime in Ramallah, NPR reports.

Crime in Ramallah chronicles the lives of three Palestinian men who work at a bar where a young woman has been murdered. According to English PEN, the novel explores “the themes of politics, religion, and homosexuality through its protagonists...[it] is reportedly not only seen as critical of Palestinian authorities through its symbolism, but also contains sexual language and references.”

The militant group Hamas has condemned the novel, and the Palestinian Authority’s attorney general banned Yahya’s book in February for “indecent texts and terms that threaten morality and public decency, which would affect the population, in particular, minors.”

In 2007, when Hamas ran the Education Ministry, an anthology of folklore was banned for its references to sex. The ban was withdrawn two weeks later due to public outcry.

Yahya, 29, for his part, told NPR that he is surprised by the outcry toward his book from residents of Ramallah, which have included death threats. “I thought the book may raise some noise and provoke writers, intellectuals, or readers,” he said. “But I was really shocked when I started to read what people were writing about me.”

He added, “For me, as a writer, I always thought there was much space for me to write, to think, in Palestine and in Ramallah, especially. I feel that this space has now disappeared.”

The Palestine Liberation Organization has decried what it calls “abuses of brutal censorship,” Al-Jazeera reports. “To use the term public decency is a form of manipulation and unacceptable censorship, which violates freedom of expression and right to creative writing.”

English PEN and PEN International have called on the attorney general to reverse the ban, close the investigation, and allow Yahya to return home safely.

Photo Credit: Abbad Yahya.