Bangladesh: Activist photographer detained by police

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - After criticizing government treatment of protesting students, a famed Bangladeshi photographer and social activist has been detained by police, officials confirmed on Monday.

Abdul Baten, the additional commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, told reporters that a Detective Branch team had picked up Shahidul Alam, the founder of the Drik Picture Library, from his Dhaka home on Sunday night, and he is now being questioned over his comments on ongoing student protests.

Shaleh Ahmed, one of Alam’s colleagues, also told Anadolu Agency that plainclothes Detective Branch police officers forcibly took Alam away from his home around 10:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Last week Alam gave an interview to Al Jazeera English criticizing the government's handling of the protests over traffic safety, which were triggered by the death of two students in an accident late last month.

Local newspaper The Daily Star reported that on Saturday Alam was assaulted by “ruling party” men while filming an attack on protesting students in the capital.

“I was attacked a little while ago near City College because I was taking a video of Chhatra League [ruling party’s student branch] shouting 'Joy Bangla' and slightly before that attacking students,” Alam said in a video on his Facebook page which went viral, the report added.

“Shahidul Alam must be immediately and unconditionally released,” said Omar Waraich, Amnesty International’s deputy South Asia director.

“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 protesters.”

An Associated Press (AP) photographer in Dhaka, who asked not to be named due to security concerns, told Anadolu Agency that reporters come under frequent attack on the job.

He said on Sunday journalists taking pictures during an attack on protesters were themselves assaulted by unidentified youth, leaving five or six badly injured.

Policemen on the scene did nothing to stop the attack, he added.

In the last two days of the ongoing student protests, at least 200 people, including 12 journalists, came under attack by ruling Awami League members in Dhaka, reported local daily Prothom Alo.

Weighing in on the volatile situation, UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Mia Seppo said in a statement: “We are deeply concerned about the reports of violence and call on all for calm. The concerns expressed by youth about road safety are legitimate and a solution is needed for a mega city like Dhaka.”