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]

Brazilian blogger murdered after receiving death threats
Ítalo Eduardo Diniz Barros was shot dead last Friday, Nov. 13 after receiving threats about his work. Diniz, who also worked as a press officer for a mayor in the state of Maranhão, often criticized local authorities in his blog. One of his friends who was also shot in the attack by two men on a motorcyle survived. THE GUARDIAN

Morocco: Five activists face prison for promoting citizen journalism app
The trial of five Moroccan civil society activists for running foreign-funded smart phone training on citizen journalism begins today, said Amnesty International. All five face penalties of up to five years in prison under national security laws for training people to use the “StoryMaker” citizen journalism smartphone app as part of a project funded by the Dutch NGO, Free Press Unlimited. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

Journalist in Iran sentenced to three years in prison for Facebook posts
The journalist Solmaz Ikdar has been sentenced on charges of “insulting the Supreme Leader” and “propaganda against the state.” Her sentencing takes place within the context of an intensified campaign by hardliners against journalists and reformists in Iran. INT’L CAMPAIGN FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN IRAN

Zone9 blogger banned from attending award ceremony in France *PEN Case List
As Zilalem Kibret was about to set off for Paris on Nov. 16 to receive the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Prize in citizen journalism, Ethiopian authorities confiscated his passport and prevented him from boarding his plane. Immigration officials said he could not leave Ethiopia because he and other Zone9 members had previously been arrested. REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS

App maker shuts down almost 80 secret channels used by ISIS
The messaging app Telegram has released a statement that it has blocked 78 ISIS-related channels that the terrorist group used to spread propaganda and communicate with other members. ISIS, a.k.a. the Islamic State, has been using the app as a means of distributing its propaganda material since October. BUSINESS INSIDER

Russian journalist to leave Poland on suspicion of espionage
Leonid Sviridov will have his residence permit revoked after a ruling to that effect was upheld by the head of the Office for Foreigners at the end of October. Procedures to oust the freelance journalist first got underway back in November 2014, when the Internal Security Agency wanted to expel the Russian journalist on suspicion of spying, and had his foreign journalist’s accreditation terminated. RADIO POLAND

Bangladesh arrests three in connection with murder of blogger *PEN Case List
Police in Bangladesh arrested three people on Wednesday in connection with the murder of a secular blogger in August, charging them with various crimes related to the incident. The three men are suspected of being involved in the attack on Niladri “Niloy” Chatterjee, who was hacked to death with machetes in the country’s capital city Dhaka, Al Jazeera reported. TIME

Imprisoned Azerbaijani journalist Khadijah Ismayilova honored *PEN Case List
Human Rights Watch will honor Khadija Ismayilova in Geneva with the Alison Des Forges Award for Extraordinary Activism on Nov. 19, as the government of Azerbaijan pushes ahead with a sweeping crackdown on its critics and as a key United Nations body reviews the country’s record on torture. HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH