Journalists appeal for release of Bangladesh activist

KATHMANDU, Aug 7: A group of journalists in Kathmandu on Monday appealed for the release of a photographer and cultural activist Shahidul Alam from custody by Dhaka Metropolitan Police. 

Shahidul was picked up from his residence by two dozen policemen on Sunday night, apparently in response to interviews he had given about the ongoing protests in Bangladesh. 

“The incarceration of Shahidul reflects the trend toward stifling dissent that has overtaken large parts of the subcontinent. This trend needs to be reversed all over, and we appeal to the Sheikh Hasina government to understand what Shahidul means to so many people in and outside Bangladesh,” they said in a statement. 

Those issuing statement include Akhilesh Upadhyay, Bharat Dutta Koirala, Bikas Rauniyar, Chandra Shekhar Karki, Gunaraj Luitel, J B Pun Magar, Kanak Mani Dixit, Kiran Nepal, Kunda Dixit, Mani Lama, Narayan Wagle, Nayantara Gurung Kakshyapati, Prateek Pradhan, Rajendra Dahal, Rajesh KC, Subhas Ghimire, Subina Shrestha, Sudheer Sharma and Usha Titikshu. 

They said they consider Shahidul Alam a pioneering South Asian activist as a founder of Drik, Pathshala South Asian Media Institute and Chobi Mela International Photography Festival. 

“He is a one-man institution who has sought to simultaneously inform the Bangladesh population and bind the people of South Asia through the exchange of news, information, photography and cultural energy,” said the joint statement.