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 here. Please send your feedback and suggestions to [email protected]

Indian police try to block Facebook video mocking Sachin Tendulkar
Indian police have asked YouTube and Facebook to block a video that mocks cricket great Sachin Tendulkar, sparking the country’s latest row over freedom of expression. Comedian Tanmay Bhat posted the clip, which also lampooned famous Indian movie singer Lata Mangeshkar, on Snapchat and Facebook on Thursday, angering rightwing politicians in Mumbai who complained to police. THE GUARDIAN

Japanese journalist: ‘Last chance’ to help me
A photo of a Japanese hostage in Syria holding up a sign which reads, “Please help me,” and “This is the last chance,” along with his name in Japanese has emerged about two months after he was last seen in what appeared to be a hostage video. The newer image shows a heavily-bearded Jumpei Yasuda, wearing an orange shirt, holding the handwritten sign. CNN cannot verify when the photo was taken. CNN

Egypt journalist union chiefs charged with harboring wanted colleagues
Egyptian prosecutors on Monday ordered the head of the journalists union and two board members to be tried on charges of harboring colleagues wanted by the law, judicial sources said, a move that drew condemnation from rights groups. The trial of Yehia Qalash, Khaled al-Balshy, and Gamal Abdel Rahim will begin on Saturday at a Cairo misdemeanors court, the judicial sources said. REUTERS

RSF decries Algeria’s plan to “clean up” TV broadcasting
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is concerned about Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal’s announcement on May 23 that he has asked communication minister Hamid Grine to “clean up” the broadcasting sector, in which more than 50 privately-owned TV channels are operating without permission. RSF

IFEX-ALC condemns detention of Paraguayan journalist union’s secretary general
The IFEX-ALC network absolutely rejects the arbitrary police actions, to which the General Secretary of the Sindicato de Periodistas del Paraguay (Paraguayan Journalists Union, SPP), Santiago Ortiz, was subjected this past Wednesday, May 25. He was detained by force without any justification, in clear violation of the Constitution of Paraguay. IFEX

AFEX calls on Ugandan president to safeguard free speech
The African Freedom of Expression Exchange (AFEX), a network of freedom of expression organizations on the continent, has petitioned Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni, calling on him to make a commitment to protect and defend free speech in the face of the deteriorating freedom of expression situation and the abuse of freedom of assembly rights in Uganda. AFEX

The real threat to free expression on college campuses
The threat to free speech on college campuses,where intellectual foundations rest on open debate, has become a crisis, although not the one commonly posited in public debate. Despite some very public protests, students do overwhelming favor free political speech. However, ironically, undergraduates, the major beneficiaries of social media, are actually the primary enemies of other forms of expression, in part because of the way conversation occurs on the platforms that they live on. INSIDE HIGHER ED

Freed journalist Khadija Ismayilova: ‘They didn’t succeed in silencing me’
Investigative reporter Khadija Ismayilova says the Azerbaijani government released her from prison after 18 months because her detention had failed to prevent other reporters from pursuing stories about high-level corruption. In an interview after the supreme court unexpectedly ordered her released from a Baku prison, the journalist vowed to continue her work and shrugged off fears for her safety. THE GUARDIAN