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]

Canadian journalist ordered to reveal ISIS text messages to police
A Canadian reporter has been ordered by a court to show the police text messages he exchanged with a suspected ISIS terrorist. But the journalist, Ben Makuch, has refused to comply and press freedom groups have supported him on the grounds that it could have a chilling effect on investigative journalism. THE GUARDIAN

Russian journalist Dmitry Tsilikin found dead in St. Petersburg
Noted Russian journalist Dmitry Tsilikin has been found stabbed to death in his flat in St. Petersburg. Mr. Tsilikin, 54, was found on Thursday evening after friends and family had been unable to contact him. His mobile phone and computer are missing. Police have opened a murder inquiry. BBC

China news blackout as ‘Ten Years’ takes Hong Kong Best Film Award
The top Hong Kong Film Award went to “Ten Years,” a low-budget independent production depicting a dark future for a Hong Kong bullied by the mainland government into assimilation. In the lists of winners published on the Chinese news portals Sina and Tencent and a report by Xinhua, the state news agency, there was no mention of the best film. NEW YORK TIMES

British authorities demand encryption keys in case with ‘huge implications’
British authorities are attempting to force a man accused of hacking the U.S. government to hand over his encryption keys in a case that campaigners believe could have ramifications for journalists and activists. THE INTERCEPT

Journalism in Veracruz, Mexico is a very dangerous profession
Drug traffickers and a repressive state government make Veracruz one of the deadliest places for journalists in Mexico. Most now shun hard-hitting reporting, but still risk abduction and murder. NPR

In Japan, the government is playing chicken with the media — and winning
On Jan. 21, Tsuneo Watanabe, editor-in-chief of the Yomiuri Shimbun, hosted an evening dinner for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and some of Japan’s top media executives in central Tokyo. Days later, journalist Akira Ikegami asked the obvious questions: Who pays when the country’s leader eats with the head of its most-read newspaper? FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS’ CLUB OF JAPAN