PEN’s Free Expression Digest brings you a daily curated round-up of the most important free expression-related stories from around the web. Please send your feedback and suggestions to [email protected]

Syrian journalist who reported on ISIS crimes in Raqqa murdered
A Syrian journalist dedicated to reporting on abuses committed in his country by Isis has been murdered. Ahmad Mohamed al-Mousa, a member of the media collective known as Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS), was killed by a group of masked men in Idlib, Syria. The group, which told of al-Mousa’s murder on its Twitter account, did not reveal any further details. THE GUARDIAN

Court acquits journalist accused of defaming South Korean President
A Seoul court found a Japanese reporter not guilty on Thursday of defaming President Park Geun-hye of South Korea, whose government has been accused of using legal channels to try to silence news reports unfavorable to her administration. Tatsuya Kato, a former Seoul bureau chief of Japan’s right-wing Sankei Shimbun newspaper, was on trial on the criminal charge of defaming Ms. Park with an online article. THE NEW YORK TIMES

French politician removes graphic photo of slain journalist James Foley on Twitter
French far-right politician Marine Le Pen has deleted a picture she had published on her Twitter account of American journalist James Foley decapitated by the Islamic State, or ISIS, telling news agency AFP she “didn’t know” it was him. She said she immediately removed the graphic image after a request from his family. ABC NEWS

Brazil court orders WhatsApp messaging to be suspended
Mobile phone companies in Brazil have been ordered by a court to impose a block of the popular WhatsApp smartphone application for two days. A court in Sao Paulo state made the order because it said WhatsApp had repeatedly failed to co-operate in a criminal investigation. It is not clear if mobile companies will fully comply with the order. BBC NEWS

Family of teenage Saudi protester sentenced to death appeal for his life
The family of a teenage protester who faces beheading in Saudi Arabia have come forward in public for the first time to plead for his life. The father of Abdullah al-Zaher, 19, called on the world to help before it is too late and his son is executed in the kingdom along with a reported 51 other people. THE GUARDIAN

Argentine journalist says wife was attacked for his reports
The two assailants who broke into the home of Argentine journalist Sergio Hurtado said they were sent to kill him. Instead, Hurtado says they stole his money, sexually abused his wife while keeping a knife to his neck and left with a message: “Don’t keep reporting about drugs.” THE WASHINGTON POST

Singapore court orders blogger to pay PM more than $100,000 over defamation
A Singapore High Court judge on Thursday ordered a blogger to pay the prime minister S$150,000 ($106,172) in damages for defamation, his written judgment seen by Reuters showed. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong successfully sued the blogger, Roy Ngerng, for a post last year in which Ngerng was accused of implicating Lee in impropriety in connection with the management of funds in a mandatory retirement savings scheme.REUTERS

US seeks answers in case of missing Laos activist
The United States called Wednesday for Laos to immediately resolve the case of prominent activist whose abduction three years ago sent a “chilling message” to civil society. The activist, Sombath Somphone, was abducted from a police checkpoint in the capital Vientiane on Dec. 15, 2012. Closed circuit television showed him being escorted by two men to a pickup truck and driven away. AP NEWS