‘No compromise’, Hasina says about international pressure over Shahidul’s arrest

Sheikh Hasina has said she was under pressure from abroad over the arrest of photographer-activist Shahidul Alam amidst student protests for safe roads, but did not bow down.

“For me, there is no compromise on the question of ethics,” the prime minister said at a discussion organised by tBangladesh Chhatra League at the Ganabhaban in Dhaka on Friday.

She alleged that a quarter tried to take advantage of the students’ movement by using the young, agitated minds.

Without naming Shahidul, she said, “Many internationally famed intellectuals took the opportunity of Digital Bangladesh, which I’ve built, to spread false information on the social media.” 

Those who spread rumours during the protests “did not hesitate to put the lives of the children at risk”, she alleged.

“And when we acted against these people, there were howls of protests all around us. Even there was international pressure,” the prime minister said.

Police arrested Shahidul, the founder of Drik Gallery and Pathshala South Asian Media Institute, in an ICT Act case after he went live on Facebook discussing clashes in the Jigatala area amidst student protests for road safety on Aug 4-5.

He also criticised the government during an interview with Al Jazeera TV.

Police have charged him with attempting to spread ‘fear and panic’ over the internet using ‘fantastical and provocative lies’.

Those defending the photographer allege the government is trying to “muffle the people’s voice” setting his arrest as an example.

The people who have urged for the release of Shahidul include Nobel laureates Bishop Desmond Tutu, Shirin Ebadi, Muhammad Yunus and Amartya Sen.