Internationally celebrated intellectuals have again called for noted photographer Shahidul Alam's release from jail.
Linguist, philosopher and scientist Noam Chomsky, Man Booker Prize winner author Arundhati Roy, playwright and activist Eve Ensler, author and social activist Naomi Klein and historian and journalist Vijay Prashad demanded the release in a tweet by author and current Chair of Pen of Pen Internationals Writers in Prison Committee, Salil Tripathi, on Friday.
In the tweet, they wrote: “We urge the government of Bangladesh to urgently release Shahidul Alam and drop all the cases against him.”
On August 5, detectives arrested Shahidul Alam from his Dhanmondi residence and a case was filed against him with Ramna police station on the following day. He was also placed on a seven-day remand in the case.
Police claimed that he had spread propaganda through his Facebook account during the student movement demanding safe roads.
Earlier on September 4, a High Court bench expressed embarrassment during the bail hearing of the eminent photographer. However, they did not disclose a reason for it.
Regulations dictate that the case will now be forwarded to the chief justice, who will then decide on another High Court bench for the hearing of Shahidul’s bail plea.
