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]

Prominent Turkish human rights lawyer assassinated
On Nov. 28, pro-Kurdish human rights lawyer Tahir Elçi was holding a press conference to explain that the people of Turkey’s Kurdish-populated East were tired of conflict and recurrent government military operations in the region. Moments after he finished his speech, he was shot dead as police and Kurdish militants clashed. His death prompted thousands to come together for a politically charged funeral on Sunday. GLOBAL VOICES

Google denies agreement to monitor anti-Israel videos
Google on Monday denied a claim by Israel’s Foreign Ministry that the Internet giant has reached an agreement with the country’s government to jointly monitor YouTube videos inciting attacks. The ministry last week said that Google, which owns YouTube, had agreed to monitor online materials after a meeting between Google executives and Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely. But the firm said no such agreement had been struck. THE TIMES OF ISRAEL

Poland: Culture minister wants to ban Nobel winner’s play
Poland’s new culture minister, Piotr Gliński, wants to ban a production by one of the country’s leading theatre companies of a play by the Nobel prize-winning author Elfriede Jelinek, claiming public money must not be used to subsidise “pornography”. The move by Gliński, who is also deputy prime minister in the new conservative Law & Justice government, is seen by civil liberties groups as a sign that Poland is poised for a return to draconian state censorship. ARTS FREEDOM

Turkey charges two journalists with spying
Turkish authorities have arrested two journalists for an opposition newspaper and charged them with espionage and aiding a terrorist organization amid a continuing crackdown on government critics after the ruling AKP party won a majority in last month’s elections. Can Dündar, editor-in-chief of the Istanbul-based Cumhuriyet newspaper and Erdem Gul, its Ankara bureau chief, were questioned for two hours prior to their arrest on Nov. 26. GLOBAL JOURNALIST

Aussie journalist in Thai legal limbo
An Australian journalist who was found not-guilty of defamation has now found himself in legal limbo after the Thai public prosecutor was granted a further 30-day extension to lodge an appeal against the verdict. The unexpected extension to Dec. 31 has left Melbourne journalist Alan Morison, publisher of the Thai online news service Phuketwan, and Thai reporter Chutima Sidasthian anxious about the future. Observers say the extensions may be intended to restrain Morison and Chutima from continuing to report on human trafficking. THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

Chinese newspaper claims banned Miss World is aligned with ‘hostile’ forces
The woman who was barred from entering China for the Miss World competition after speaking out against the country’s human rights record “has to pay a cost for being tangled with hostile forces against China,” a widely read Communist-run newspaper has said. Anastasia Lin, who is a political activist and current Miss Canada, was prevented by authorities from flying from Hong Kong to the southern island of Sanya, China, to attend the month-long competition. THE INDEPENDENT

U.S. activist heading home after serving Peru sentence
American activist Lori Berenson is finally heading home to New York, two decades after being found guilty of aiding leftist rebels in Peru. The 46-year-old has been living quietly in Lima with her 6-year-old son since her 2010 parole because she was not allowed to leave the country until her 20-year sentence lapsed, Berenson told The Associated Press on Sunday. ABC NEWS

U.K.: Telegraph fires environmental journalist Geoffrey Lean
Geoffrey Lean, the respected enviromental reporter, has been “pushed out” of the Telegraph, according to the writer. Lean, who pioneered the role of environmental correspondent almost forty years ago, joined the Telegraph in 2009 after 16 years at the Independent. Some have suggested the move is due to the newspaper’s skepticism about man-made climate change. NEW STATESMAN

Under house arrest, a climate activist waits out the Paris conference
In the wake of the ISIS attacks on Nov. 13, the French government has banned public demonstrations, including the massive actions that had been planned for the international climate conference, known as COP21. Because of his alleged leadership role in arranging the protests, Joel Domenjoud was served with a document saying he would be placed under house arrest for the full two weeks of the conference. THE INTERCEPT