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. *This mailing list is currently in BETA as we work out the kinks. Please send your feedback and suggestions to [email protected]

Turkish journalist calls his release from jail a ‘defeat’ for Erdogan
The release of two prominent Turkish journalists following a ruling by Turkey’s top court that their rights had been violated is a “clear defeat” for President Tayyip Erdogan, one of them said on Wednesday. REUTERS

Where writers aren’t free – interviews with writers from Myanmar
Five decades of military rule in Myanmar have kept it politically isolated, economically undeveloped and, in terms of freedom of expression, very unfree. That may be about to change. Leslie Absher conducted a series of interviews with Myanma writers at our sister center PEN Myanmar to shed light on the situation. MS. MAGAZINE

Man jailed in UAE for sharing poem ‘ridiculing’ Emiratis killed in Yemen
Saleh Mohammed al-Awaisi has been jailed in the United Arab Emirates for sharing a poem deemed to be mocking of Emirati soldiers killed fighting in Yemen. He was sentenced to three years in prison for “forwarding a WhatsApp message that mocked the UAE and its martyrs” MIDDLE EAST EYE

30 Sudanese journalists launch country’s biggest ever hunger strike
More than 30 Sudanese journalists have launched a hunger strike to protest against the forced closure of their newspaper by the government. In the biggest organised strike of its kind in the country, the El Tayar reporters were greeted by hundreds of supporters at the newspaper’s offices in Khartoum on Tuesday. THE GUARDIAN

1,845 Erdoğan insult cases opened in Turkey since 2014
Turkey’s Minister of Justice says as many as 1,845 cases have been opened against people accused of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan since he came to office in 2014. ASSOCIATED PRESS

TV journalists slam minister’s threat against ‘biased’ programming, fear media self-censorship
Journalists and academics have joined forces to openly criticize recent remarks by Minister of Communications Sanae Takaichi that the government might suspend broadcasters’ operations if they air programs it considers politically biased. JAPAN TIMES