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]

Turkish journalist Can Dündar escapes attempted shooting outside court An assailant has attempted to shoot Turkish journalist Can Dündar outside a courthouse in Istanbul, a witness has told Reuters, just before the court was due to announce the verdict in Dündar’s trial on accusations of revealing state secrets. Dündar was unharmed but a reporter covering his trial appeared to have been injured. THE GUARDIAN

U.S. cartoonist fired from Farm News for pro-farmer cartoon After a cartoon singling out the CEOs of Monsanto, Dupont Pioneer, and John Deere was published last week, Rick Friday said he was told in an email from an editor that the cartoon would be his last for Farm News. Mr. Friday, quoting the email, said the cartoon “had a caused a storm” and that “in the eyes of some, big agriculture cannot be criticized or poked fun at.” THE NEW YORK TIMES

Al-Jazeera accused of ‘abandoning’ journalist facing jail in Egypt Mohamed Fawzy will be laid off but lacks a work visa to stay in the US and cannot return to Egypt, where he was convicted in absentia for ‘spreading false news’. “I have no good options,” Fawzy, who is Egyptian, told the Guardian. “The only option for me is to [seek] political asylum. If I apply for this, I will lose my country forever.” THE GUARDIAN

Ming Pao stands by termination of chief executive editor The management of Ming Pao is standing by the decision to terminate former executive chief editor Keung Kwok-yuen, but Chief Editor Chong Tien Siong apologized “if anything was inappropriate” regarding Keung’s termination. Keung told Ming Pao, “I think that this apology is very sloppy, and it didn’t say clearly the real reasons behind the crude termination.” HONG KONG FREE PRESS

Journalist survives two murder attempts in one day Honduran reporter Félix Molina was feeling pretty good after four men were arrested for the murder of his friend, indigenous leader Berta Cáceres. Then he came under fire — twice. THE DAILY BEAST

Nigeria: Kaduna journalist regains freedom Jacob Dickson, a Kadua journalist, who had been in prison custody for five days, has regained his freedom. Dickson, who was arrested and imprisoned by security operatives for an alleged inciting report, said he was treated like a Very Important Person (VIP) by prison officials during his detention. ALL AFRICA

Iranian blogger bailed after 38-day hunger strike A blogger who was sentenced to 15 years in an Iranian jail has been let out on bail following a 10-day hunger strike. Hossein Ronaghi-Maleki, who was jailed in 2009, had been protesting his sentence and the lack of healthcare treatment offered to him for kidney problems he suffered while in prison. INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES