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]

Marques to Angolan President: ‘You are a powerful but insecure man’ *PEN Case List
Rafael Marques de Morais, the journalist sentenced for ‘defaming’ the army, warns Dos Santos of the disaster he’s courting. THE GUARDIAN

Scottish MP McDonald highlights the case of jailed Saudi blogger Raif Badawi *PEN Case List
Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister Ellwood has told Scottish Member of Parliament McDonald that the Government would be “delighted” to issue a request to Saudi Arabia for a non-governmental organization (NGO) representative to visit imprisoned blogger Raif Badawi. THE NATIONAL

The ‘little presidents’ who deny press freedom by attacking journalists
Survey by Reporters Without Borders of the political leaders who intimidate, insult and jail editors and reporters who dare to hold them to account. THE GUARDIAN

New draft law spells doom for press freedom, Thai media group says
The Media Reform Working Group yesterday called on the National Reform Council (NRC) to review the draft law on press-freedom protection, saying the proposed law would place the media completely under state control instead of promoting reform. THAI/VISA NEWS

Govt’s admission to internet censorship ‘remarkable’
Malaysia has finally openly admitted to censoring the internet, the Electronic Frontier Foundation reports. FREE MALAYSIA TODAY

Here are some of the weird rumors China thinks it needs to censor
Over the past few years, authorities in China have waged a dramatic war on rumors, “fake news” and other spurious information online. Critics warn that the campaign is a tightening of the screws that will directly affect free speech in the country. However, it appears that the campaign may be more targeted at actual rumors — as opposed to essentially anti-government sentiment — than you might expect. THE WASHINGTON POST