Iran releases Canadian-Iranian professor held since June
Homa Hoodfar, who until recently taught at Concordia University, was released from prison on “humanitarian grounds” and flown out of Iran on Monday, Iran’s state-run news agency said. Hoodfar, 65, was questioned and barred from leaving Iran in March after traveling to the country to visit family following the death of her husband.
WASHINGTON POST

Turkish courts order Twitter to shut down accounts
Turkey’s online censorship campaign appears to show no indications of slowing down. A Turkish court has ordered Twitter to block the account of a noted, exiled journalist for “instigating terrorism”. However, Twitter has refused to block the verified account of Mahir Zeynalov. The social media giant also reportedly received a court order requesting that 17 accounts be blocked.
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES

Sri Lanka police exhume journalist’s body in murder he predicted
Sri Lankan police on Tuesday exhumed the body of a senior journalist who had predicted just days before his murder in 2009 that he would be killed by the government, marking the latest development in a series of probes into former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s administration.
REUTERS

Chinese labor activists handed suspended sentences
A Chinese court handed suspended prison terms to three activists detained in a crackdown last year against worker activism, dealing lighter-than-expected punishment in a case that has chilled efforts to champion labor rights.
WALL STREET JOURNAL

Russian journalist, environmental activist attacked
Russian journalist and activist Grigory Pasko has been attacked by unknown assailants in the city of Barnaul in Russia’s Altai region. Pasko was sentenced to four years in prison in 2001 on charges of espionage connected to his publications on environmental issues in the Sea of Japan.
RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY

Gunmen kill South Sudanese journalist after his abduction
South Sudan gunmen have killed a journalist after he was kidnapped in June, highlighting the level of insecurity government critics face. Vuni was reportedly kidnapped at gunpoint by gunmen at his Kerepi village along the Juba-Nimule road in June, but the identities of the kidnappers remained unknown.
SUDAN TRIBUNE

Two years after 43 students kidnapped, we still don’t know what happened
The public anger was on display Monday—the second anniversary of the presumed mass killing—in Mexico City, where thousands of protesters took to the streets to demand justice. The 43 students, all young men who had been studying at a teachers college in the rural town of Ayotzinapa, had hijacked buses in hopes of reaching a demonstration, only to be intercepted by local police and never seen again.
LOS ANGELES TIMES

 

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].