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

PEN Appeals to Xi Jinping for Release of Imprisoned Chinese
44 writers and public intellectuals have issued a strongly worded open letter to President Xi Jinping of China that calls on him to free all Chinese writers, scholars and intellectuals who have been imprisoned for their political views. NEW YORK TIMES

Meydan TV reporter Shirin Abbasov sentenced to 30 days for “disobeying police”
Abbasov, a 19 year-old freelance journalist, went missing on his way to university early the afternoon of 16 September, and his whereabouts were unknown for nearly 30 hours. On Friday, authorities searched the flat of another Meydan TV reporter in connection with the case, indicating more serious charges might be forthcoming. INDEX ON CENSORSHIP

Egypt Has a Creative Way of Hiding Bad News
Egypt issued a ban on any further press coverage of the mysterious attack that killed Mexican tourists and their four Egyptian guides after they were mistaken for insurgents in a popular safari destination. FOREIGN POLICY

Margaret Atwood: we are double-plus unfree
“Freedom to write, freedom to publish, freedom of speech: all are still being fought for in many countries in the world. Their martyrs are numerous,” writes Atwood. THE GUARDIAN

Inside the world’s only sanctuary for exiled journalists
Not far away from those bloodstained Charlie Hebdo hallways, there’s a building that houses those who have experienced the alternative to death—exile. The men and women inside the Maison des Journalistes already know how quickly a life can change over a few choice words. QUARTZ

Lifting the Gag on National Security Letters
Earlier this week, the public got a look at that rare occurrence in a national security case: a court lifting a gag on the recipient of a surveillance request. The ruling will, if it stands, entail the first public revelation of the complete contents of an NSL “attachment,” which lists the specific information the FBI sought to obtain. JUST SECURITY

For University of California, back to the drawing board on free speech
A proposed new policy against intolerance was criticized by some regents and Jewish groups as too weak in dealing with what they contend are rising numbers of anti-Semitic incidents on campuses. Others complained that it went too far and would stifle dissent. LOS ANGELES TIMES