Hindustan Surkhiyan Desk: Internationally acclaimed photographer Shahidul Alam has secured bail after staying behind bars for over three months.
There is no legal bar for Shahidul to get released from jail following the High Court verdict, Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua, a lawyer for Shahidul, told hindustansurkhiyan
The High Court granted his permanent bail considering his age and the time he spent behind bars.
The HC bench of Justice Sheikh Abdul Awal and Justice Bhismadev Chakrabortty passed the order following a petition filed by Shahidul seeking bail in the case filed under the ICT Act.
Barrister Sarah Hossain, the principal lawyer for Shahidul, told this correspondent that the High Court granted bail to Shahidul considering that he has been suffering in jail for more than 100 days and he is a man of 63 years.
Besides, the case against him is under investigation, she added.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam told The Daily Star that his office will move an appeal before the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the HC verdict that granted bail to Shahidul.
Who is Shahidul Alam?
Shahidul is one of the most respected photographers in the world. His pictures have been published in almost all the global newspapers and magazines in the world. He is among that elite corps of global photographers who is regularly hired by the most renowned global publications to do assignments in various parts of the world.
He set up the award-winning photo agency called Drik. His school, Pathshala, is now the most renowned photography school in South Asia and considered one of the finest in the world, bringing foreign students and guest teachers from many parts to our country. He has set up the Bangladesh Photographic Institute and the South Asian Institute of Photography to promote photojournalism.
Why is Shahidul in jail?
The photographer was sent behind bars on charges of “spreading propaganda and false information against the government”.
Shahidul was picked up by law enforcers on the night of August 5 from his home in the capital’s Dhanmondi area during the student protest for safe roads.
