Amnesty International, Australia, August 15, 2018.
Bangladeshi authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Shahidul Alam, well-known photographer and activist, who was detained by plainclothes policemen on 5 August 2018 after giving an interview to Al-Jazeera English on the current wave of student protests in Dhaka, Amnesty International said today.
At least 115 students were injured over the weekend as police resorted to grossly excessive force, including firing rubber bullets and tear gas at thousands of overwhelmingly peaceful student protestors. The students also came under attack from pro-government counter-demonstrators.
“Shahidul Alam must be immediately and unconditionally released. There is no justification whatsoever for detaining anyone for solely peacefully expressing their views. His arrest marks a dangerous escalation of a crackdown by the government that has seen the police and vigilantes unleash violence against student protestors,” said Omar Waraich, Amnesty International’s Deputy South Asia Director.
