Global Uproar Over Shahidul Alam’s Arrest
The esteemed 63-year-old photographer, photojournalist, educator and activist Shahidul Alam was arrested on August 5. Earlier that day, Alam had appeared on Al Jazeera and openly criticized Dhaka authorities’ excessive use of force in breaking up student protests calling for improved road safety.
At around 10pm on August 5, plainclothes policemen arrested Alam at his Dhaka residence. He has been charged with “spreading propaganda and false information against the government” under Section 57 of Bangladesh’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act 2006, which criminalizes the electronic dissemination of content that “prejudices the image of the state” and may cause “deterioration in law and order.”
When Alam appeared in court on August 6, he was visibly bruised and stated that he was tortured in jail, an
