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]

Egyptian journalist detained in Cairo for ‘spreading false news’
An Egyptian researcher and freelance journalist detained upon his return from Berlin is being investigated for spreading false news, in what his lawyers say is the latest crackdown on press freedoms in the country. Prosecutors ordered Ismail Alexandrani to be jailed for 15 days pending investigations after more than eight hours of questioning in Cairo. THE GUARDIAN

Turkish court rejects appeal for jailed editors
A Turkish court on Tuesday threw out an appeal against the detention of two editors from a top daily newspaper as a global media rights watchdog launched a major petition for their release. The higher Istanbul court rejected the appeal from lawyers for the Cumhuriyet’s editor-in-chief Can Dundar and its Ankara bureau chief Erdem Gul who had been arrested on “spying” charges last week. YAHOO NEWS

#SueMeSaudi goes viral after government threats
Hundreds took to Twitter to taunt Saudi Arabia after the government reportedly threatened legal action against users who compared its decision to execute a poet to punishments carried out by the Islamic State. According to Reuters, the Kingdom’s justice ministry official was quoted by the Al Riyadh newspaper as saying, “The justice ministry will sue the person who described … the sentencing of a man to death for apostasy as being ‘ISIS-like.’” THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE

Wikipedia Russia suspends editor who tried to cut deal with Russian authorities
A Wikipedia editor has been suspended after he organized a meeting with the Russian Federal Drug Control Service to set terms under which “the expert opinion of authorized government bodies” would be inserted into Wikipedia entires on “socially sensitive” topics. The topics included “drugs and child pornography.” Russia had previously blocked access to Wikipedia over an article about hashish that Wikipedians refused to censor, and later unblocked it in the face of popular outrage. BOING BOING

Mexican newspaper columnist receives death threat by mail
On Nov. 25, Maite Azuela, a columnist for El Universal, received an envelope containing a copy of her staff profile picture with insults and death threats written on it. Azuela works as both a journalist and activist, focusing on political rights and human rights violations. She has recently written about the Army, headed by Salvador Cienfuegos, and the Puebla government, led by Rafael Moreno Valle. IFEX

Family suspects foul play over Indian activist’s death
Yet another activist has been found dead under suspicious circumstances in Maharashtra, India. And as the police say it could be a case of suicide, the family and friends of Shrikant Khandalkar have raised protests. The body of Mr. Khandalkar was found on Sunday — face smashed and other injuries visible — behind the district court in Nagpur. NDTV

Singaporean blogger loses appeal against conviction
Socio-political blogger Alex Au’s appeal against a decision which found him guilty of contempt of court by scandalising the judiciary was rejected on Tuesday. The case stems from an article in which the gay rights activist implied partiality on the part of Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon in the scheduling of two separate challenges against Section 377A of the Penal Code, which criminalizes sex between men. STRAITS TIMES

Turkey: Court rejects deportation of Iranian journalist
A constitutional court in Turkey has rejected the country’s Migration Directorate’s demand to deport Mohammad Esmaeılzadeh, an Iranian journalist and refugee, for not notifying the directorate when he changed his residence. Esmaeılzadeh and his family left Iran after he was subjected to government intimidation for being critical of the country’s regime. The Turkish court annulled the directorate’s decision, saying deportation would pose a threat to the material and spiritual health of the journalist and his family. TODAY’S ZAMAN

Columbia U. disputes Exxon Mobil on climate risk articles
The dean of Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism on Tuesday strongly disputed accusations by Exxon Mobil that journalists from the school had produced inaccurate and misleading articles about the company’s knowledge of the risks of climate change. The school had collaborated with The Los Angeles Times on two articles that examined “the gap between Exxon Mobil’s public position and its internal planning on the issue of climate change.” NEW YORK TIMES

Young journalists produce graphic novel to highlight threats to media freedom
A new graphic novel exploring challenges to press freedom across Europe and the impact of limitations on journalists has been released by the European Youth Press. Free Our Media is the result of a collaborative effort funded by the Council of Europe and contains 14 comics, each story centered on the state of media freedom in a different country. INDEX ON CENSORSHIP