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]

Somalia: Man executed for the killings of 5 journalists
A former journalist who joined the Islamic extremist group al-Shabab was executed in Somalia’s capital for the killings of five Somali journalists. Hassan Hanafi Haji, who was extradited from Kenya last year on the request of the Somali government, was killed by firing squad at a police academy in Mogadishu on Monday. U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT

Syrian journalist wounded in attack in Turkey
Turkey’s state-run news agency says a Syrian journalist has been seriously wounded in an attack in Turkey — the latest victim of a series of assaults against Syrian journalists in the country. The attack was caught on a security camera and showed the assailant approaching the Syrian from behind and escaping after shooting at him. ABC NEWS

Bangladesh: Al Qaeda branch not behind machete killing, official says
Home-grown militants — not the Bangladeshi branch of al Qaeda — are responsible for the grisly machete killing of a secular blogger, the country’s home minister said. Asaduzzaman Khan’s statement came days after the extremist group claimed responsibility for the killing of Nazimuddin Samad last week. CNN

U.S. journalist held in Syria for nearly four years is set free
A U.S. freelance photographer who has been held in Syria for almost four years has been released, the State Department said. Kevin Patrick Dawes, 33, was abducted in 2012 as he entered Syria. The State Department said Mr. Dawes was turned over to Russian authorities. BBC NEWS

‘Scottification’ puts Scotland’s literature in peril, claims author
Kirsty Gunn has written of her fears of over-politicization damaging creativity, due to arts funder Creative Scotland’s emphasis on work benefiting Scotland. The agency, which distributes funding for the arts in Scotland from the government, is ‘supposedly independent of party remits,’ wrote Gunn. THE GUARDIAN

Saudi blogger Raif Badawi awarded freedom of speech prize *PEN Case List
Saudi blogger Raif Badawi, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes for publishing a liberal blog, is to be awarded the International Publishers Association’s Prix Voltaire for his contribution to freedom of speech. Badawi was arrested in 2012 on a charge of insulting Islam and indicted on several charges including apostasy. THE GUARDIAN