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]

Egypt: Journalist Ismail Alexandrani’s detention renewed
Prosecutors in Cairo have extended the detention of investigative journalist and researcher Ismail Alexandrani for 15 more days pending investigations. Alexandrani, 32, is accused of belonging to the banned Muslim Brotherhood group, spreading false information and rumors with the aim of terrorizing people. The prominent researcher was detained late November after the Egyptian embassy in Berlin issued a memorandum against him, according to his wife. DAILY NEWS EGYPT

Iranian poet is released on bail
A popular Iranian poet has been released on bail after being detained upon arrival in Iran, RFE/RL’s Radio Farda reports. Hila Sedighi, 30, has criticized state repression in her poems. She was detained on Jan. 7 at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Airport after a flight from the United Arab Emirates, and released on Jan. 9. Authorities have not commented on the reason for her detention. RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY

Palestinians arrest journalist for false reporting
Salim Sweidan, a Palestinian journalist who works for the Ma’an news agency, was arrested by Palestinian Authority security forces on Sunday after he reported that the PA provided Israel information which led to the arrest of the gunmen suspected of killing Eitam and Na’ama Henkin last October. The journalist is being accused of slander and inaccurate reporting, among other charges. Ma’an journalists condemned the arrest, noting that Sweidan was not the source of the information that was reported. THE JERUSALEM POST

News executives push for release of Jason Rezaian *PEN Case List
Executives from 25 news organizations, including The Associated Press, sent a letter Friday to Secretary of State John Kerry urging him to press Iran to release jailed Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian. The letter said Iran should recognize that independent journalism is “a fundamental human right” and free Rezaian. The 39-year-old journalist was convicted in closed proceedings last year after being charged with espionage and related allegations. THE HUFFINGTON POST

NYT reporter live-tweets raid on Pakistan home
The Pakistan correspondent for The New York Times found himself at the center of the news on Tuesday after he live-tweeted a raid on his Islamabad home by paramilitary Rangers. “Rangers have shown up at my house, saying they want to search the premises, but have no documents or warrants,” Salman Masood tweeted. Masood added that a plainclothes officer told him he was from “intelligence” but declined to offer more information and insisted on searching his property. NEWSWEEK

Israeli author’s sales skyrocket after book ban
An Israeli author whose book was rejected from the national high school curriculum because it depicts a Jewish-Arab love affair is achieving star status at home and abroad. Sales of “Borderlife” by Dorit Rabinyan have skyrocketed, international inquiries have doubled, and American filmmakers are jockeying for the movie rights. In an interview with The Associated Press, Rabinyan said the response, at a time when critics are accusing the hard-line government of trying to stifle dissent, is “an expression of support for Israeli democracy.” THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Op-Ed: Brazil’s digital backlash
Brazilians take their social media very seriously. The country has one of the fastest growing populations of Internet users in the world. Last month, when a São Paulo judge blocked the use of the instant messaging platform WhatsApp, resulting in a 13-hour shutdown, as many as 100 million Brazilians had been seriously inconvenienced, and civil libertarians around the world looked on with dismay. THE NEW YORK TIMES