PEN’s Free Expression Digest brings you a daily curated round-up of the most important free expression-related stories from around the web. Subscribe here. Please send your feedback and suggestions to [email protected]

China sentences democracy advocate Hu Shigen to seven years in prison
Hu Shigen, a prominent defender of free expression and the right to protest, was sentenced to more than seven years in prison as the Chinese government continued its prosecution of rights activists accused of subverting state power.
THE NEW YORK TIMES

Zimbabwean police assault journalists
Members of the riot police assaulted freelance journalists Lawrence Chimunhu, Christopher Mahove, and Tendai Musiya as they covered demonstrations against the Zimbabwe government’s plans to introduce bond notes.
THE ZIMBABWEAN

Omani editor arrested amid media crackdown
Ibrahim al-Maamari, editor of Azamn, one of Oman’s most popular opposition newspapers, has been arrested and faces two years in prison for criticizing the Gulf Arab sultanate’s government and judicial system.
MIDDLE EAST EYE

Social media deactivated during police standoff with woman
In the midst of a five-hour standoff that turned deadly, Facebook granted an emergency request from the Baltimore County Police Department to take offline the social media accounts belonging to a woman who wielded a shotgun at officers.
WASHINGTON’S TOP NEWS

Anonymous-linked journalist facing prison urges Obama to set him free
Journalist Matthew Keys, who is facing a two-year prison sentence for conspiring with the Anonymous hacking collective, has appealed to President Barack Obama to intervene in his case.
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES

South Sudanese editor-in-chief released on bail
Alfred Taban, editor-in-chief of the independent daily Juba Monitor, has been released on bail. Taban was detained after the publishing an editorial article in which he called for the removal of President Salva Kiir and First Vice-President Riek Machar.
ALL AFRICA