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]

Prominent Venezuelan journalist murdered
Ricardo Durán, a well-known Venezuelan newscaster and spokesman for the government of the capital of Caracas, was killed late Tuesday in what authorities are speculating might have been an attempted robbery. As the case is being investigated, President Nicolás Maduro and others have suggested something more sinister was afoot in the death of the award-winning journalist. MIAMI HERALD

Al Jazeera reporter goes missing in Yemen
An Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent is missing and is believed to have been kidnapped while reporting in the besieged city of Taiz. Hamdi al-Bokari was last seen around 10pm on Monday in the middle of the war-torn Yemeni city. Al Jazeera Arabic said in a statement that there were “indications that he had been kidnapped by unknown persons”. AL JAZEERA

Azerbaijan attacks Amal Clooney for support of journalist *PEN Case List
British human rights lawyer Amal Clooney has sparked outrage in Azerbaijan by taking on the case of jailed investigative journalist and outspoken critic of the government Khadija Ismayilova. The Azerbaijani media, which often acts as a government mouth piece, has accused Clooney of harboring a vendetta against the Turkic countries of central Asia. THE GUARDIAN

Anti-drone activist sentenced to 6 months for peaceful protest
A peace activist who was arrested while photographing an anti-drone protest at an upstate New York air base has been sentenced to six months in jail. Mary Anne Grady Flores, a grandmother of three, was found guilty of violating a protection order that barred her and other activists from going near the Hancock Field Air National Guard Base in Syracuse, NY. Some activists are worried that the sentencing could set a precedent. THE HUFFINGTON POST

Turkish teacher to serve year in prison for insulting President Erdogan
A Turkish court on Wednesday sentenced a female teacher to almost a year in prison for making a rude gesture at President Tayyip Erdogan at a political rally in 2014, local media reports said on Wednesday. Insulting public officials is a crime in Turkey, and Erdogan, the country’s most popular but most divisive politician, is seen by critics as intolerant of dissent and quick to take legal action over perceived slurs. REUTERS UK

Nigeria: Biafran activist Nnamdi Kanu sent back to jail
A Nigerian court has ordered that pro-Biafran activist Nnamdi Kanu will remain in prison, Premium Times reported. Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra group, has been detained by the Nigerian State Security Service since October 2015. The U.K.-based activist, who runs the underground Radio Biafra from London, was arrested on charges including ethnic incitement and sedition. NEWSWEEK

Oscar-winning filmmaker and dolphin activist held in Tokyo
The animal-rights activist and star of the “The Cove,” which highlighted Japan’s controversial annual dolphin slaughter in the town of Taiji, has been detained at a Tokyo airport, his lawyer says. Takashi Takano told CNN that Ric O’Barry has been detained for allegedly trying to enter Japan on a tourist visa without a fully proven tourist status. Officials provided no further information. CNN