Shahidul ALAM
Image Credit: re:publica from Germany/WikkiCommons
On 7 August 2025, the High Court of Bangladesh dismissed the case against photojournalist and social activist Shahidul Alam, who had been under investigation since 2018 on suspicion of ‘giving false information’, ‘hurting the image of the nation’, and ‘causing deterioration of law and order’ by ‘making provocative comments’ on his social media account, under Section 57 of Bangladesh’s since-repealed Information and Communication Technology Act (ICT) 2006 (see Case Lists 2018-2025). Earlier, on 4 November 2024, the High Court stayed the investigation into the case and lifted restrictions on his personal freedoms. The case has now been closed.
Alam was picked up by men in plain clothes on 5 August 2018, hours after giving an interview to Al Jazeera in which he described his experience documenting street protests over road safety. On 6 August, he was brought before a court in Dhaka, where he first learned of the accusations against him. Alam was granted bail in November 2018 after five rejected applications and more than 100 days in detention. In the years that followed, he repeatedly challenged the legality of the continued investigation.
On 8 October 2025, Alam was briefly detained by Israeli forces while aboard an aid flotilla headed for Gaza. He was released on 10 October and returned to Dhaka (see MENA regional overview).
Shahidul Alam, born in 1955, is the founder and managing director of the Drik Picture Library and the founder of the Pathshala South Asian Media Academy in Dhaka, which has trained hundreds of photographers. His books include Nature's Fury (2007), Portraits of Commitment (2009), My Journey as Witness (2011), and The Tide Will Turn (2019). In 2014, he was awarded the Shilpakala Padak by the President of Bangladesh for his contribution to Bangladeshi culture. In 2018, he received the Lucie Award and the Frontline Club’s Tribute Award, and was named among TIME magazine’s Persons of the Year. In 2020, the Committee to Protect Journalists awarded him its International Press Freedom Award.