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]

UN Rights Commissioner demands Khadija Ismayilova’s release
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein calls for the immediate release of investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova, expressing concern about the crackdown against civil society in Azerbaijan. Ismayilova was sentenced to 7.5 years on charges many have denounced as retribution for her reporting on corruption. RFE/RL
 
VICE News reporter calls for release of Iraqi translator in Turkey
A Vice News journalist arrested in Turkey says he feels a “massive sense of responsibility” for his Iraqi translator, who remains in custody. Britons Jake Hanrahan and Philip Pendlebury were arrested on August 27 with Mohammed Rasool and accused of working for a “terrorist organization” while covering clashes in Turkey. BBC
 
Mohamed Fahmy, Canadian journalist, suffering in Egyptian prison: wife
Fahmy is one of the three Al Jazeera journalists sentenced to 3 years in prison for widely denounced terror-related offenses. Fahmy’s wife, Marwa Omara, is urging the Canadian government to help free her husband, and hopes that a letter sent to the prime minister by some 300 prominent Canadians will help to spur action. HUFFINGTON POST
 
Analysis: National security cited in crackdown on journalism worldwide
The detention of three Vice News journalists in Turkey last month came with all-too-familiar charges of terror-related crimes. Similar allegations were leveled against three Al-Jazeera reporters convicted last year in Egypt of fabricating news to help the banned Muslim Brotherhood. So, too, against Eskinder Nega, an Ethiopian journalist found guilty of terrorism charges in 2012 after publishing a critical piece about the government. AP
 
Dutch journalist detained in Turkey faces deportation
Turkey’s state-run news agency says a Dutch journalist who was detained last week in a mainly Kurdish town along with a group of peace activists faces deportation from Turkey. Frederike Geerdink would be the third foreign journalist to be deported after reporting from Turkey’s Kurdish regions this month. AP
 
Imprisoned Iranian cartoonist faces indecency charges for shaking lawyer’s hand
Iranian cartoonist Atena Farghadani will be spending the next 12 years in prison for a cartoon depicting members of Iran’s parliament as animals. Now, she is charged with “illegitimate sexual relationship short of adultery” because she shook the hand of her attorney when he visited her in prison. ARTFORUM
 
Ecuadorian government orders press freedom group to disband
Despite nearly 600 attacks against journalists in the country being reported between 2008-2012, Fundamedios, an Ecuadorian NGO that monitors, researches and defends the right to freedom of expression, has been ordered to close down. THE GUARDIAN
 
Bangladesh internet law has ‘chilling effect’: UN rapporteur
Under Bangladesh’s Internet Act, any person who deliberately publishes material deemed to hurt religious beliefs, offend the state or damage law and order can be jailed for 14 years. The law has been used to imprison several high-profile journalists and social media users in the Muslim-majority nation in recent months. AFP