Irena Brežná (born 26 February 1950) is a Slovak-Swiss writer, journalist and human rights activist writing in German.

[1] Her parents were repressed by the communist Czechoslovak authorities, her mother spent a year in prison after an unsuccessful attempt to flee to Sweden, and her father – a lawyer – was forbidden from working in his professional field.

[2] She also actively participated in the works of Amnesty International,[2] focusing on humanitarian and women's rights issues in Guinea and Chechnya.

[2] She debuted in 1989 with an anti-racist children's book cowritten with Alpha Oumar Barry, titled Biro & Barbara.

[2] Her autobiographical work Die Beste aller Welten (2008) placed in Swiss bestseller lists.