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]

Niger: Fifth journalist arrested in ten days
Newspaper editor Souleymane Salha is being held at police headquarters in Niamey because of an article criticizing the deputy police director in connection with opposition leader Hama Amadou’s arrest upon his return to Niger, after more than a year abroad. The other four journalists were arrested on Nov. 14 to prevent them covering the return of Amadou, who was himself arrested on landing at Niamey’s airport. REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS

Chinese police accused of harassing family of dead rights activist
The sisters of Chinese rights activist Zhang Liumao, who died in detention in the southern city of Guangzhou earlier this month, were summoned by local authorities after they responded angrily to news of his death, Radio Free Asia reports. The family said the summons — for “picking quarrels and stirring up trouble” — was designed to intimidate them. TIME

French comedian given prison sentence for hate speech
The controversial French comedian Dieudonné M’bala M’bala has been sentenced to two months in jail by a Belgian court for incitement to hatred over racist and antisemitic comments he made during a show. Dieudonné, who has faced similar cases in France, was also fined €9,000 by a court in Liège. THE GUARDIAN

Russian journalists injured by missile in Syria
AP reports that three Russian journalists were injured when a missile hit near their car in Syria. The Russian Defense Ministry says the journalists were traveling to Al-Dagmashliya, a village in a Syrian regime controlled province. They were transported to a hospital at a nearby Russian military base and treated for minor injuries. AL BAWABA

Black Lives Matter activists shot during protest
On Monday night in Minneapolis, a group of suspected white supremacists opened fire on a crowd of Black Lives Matter activists, injuring five people. All five were taken to the hospital and one underwent surgery early Tuesday morning. The shooters targeted a Black Lives Matter encampment near the Minneapolis Police Department’s 4th Precinct, where protesters have remained for over a week to demand consequences for the police killing of unarmed 24-year-old Jamar Clark. THE NATION

Burundi implicates respected journalist in failed coup
Buurndi’s government is seeking to extradite a prominent journalist from Belgium over charges he played a role in a failed coup attempt against the government, the journalist said Wednesday. Burundi’s government alleges Antoine Kaburahe, director of the independent newspaper Iwacu, conspired with the generals who attempted to overthrow the president in May during violent protests against the president’s efforts to run for a third term, Kaburahe said in a statement. THE WASHINGTON POST

Veteran rights activist gets three years for “subversion” in China
Authorities in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong handed down a three-year jail term for subversion to a Shenzhen-based rights activist who helped ordinary people petition the government over violations of their rights, his lawyer said. Yang Mingyu, better known by his pseudonym Yang Lin, was found guilty of “incitement to subvert state power” by the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court. RADIO FREE ASIA

Arab-American journalist says he suffered “torture” at Miami airport
Photojournalist Kim Badawi is an American citizen, and despite carrying his blue U.S. passport, Badawi claims he was detained at Miami International Airport for ten hours and endured “physiological torture” Sunday while on his way home to visit family in Texas for Thanksgiving. Badawi chronicled his harrowing experience on Twitter. MIAMI NEW TIMES

Interview: Why Iran’s government fears people like Jason Rezaian
Maziar Bahari, a Canadian-Iranian reporter for Newsweek who lived in Iran for 12 years, was arrested in June 2009 amid the country’s “Green Revolution.” He was held without charge for four months, and his ordeal was later the subject of the Jon Stewart-directed film “Rosewater.” Bahari provides first-hand insight into how Iran’s powerful hardliners view the news media and the outside world. BUSINESS INSIDER