Renowned Bangladeshi photographer and activist Shahidul Alam has been jailed in the wake of mass demonstrations by young people earlier this month.
He took his camera into the streets to document the fury of thousands of students fed up with unsafe roads after two children were killed by a speeding bus.
His partner, Rahnuma Ahmed, wrote that he was “inspired by the youth of our country, who have refused to be cowed down by state terror”.
But Mr Alam, who criticised the government's handling of the demonstrations on international television and Facebook, has been accused of spreading false information. He is being investigated under controversial internet laws.
Human rights monitors say the protests have been followed by a wave of detentions targeting dozens of critics.
Mr Alam, 63, says he has been beaten in custody, and international human rights organisations have joined a roster of global artists and writers, including hundreds of photographers, in demanding his release.
For decades he has used his camera to chronicle events in bangladesh and his pictures have been published widely in leading newspapers and magazines. As the founder of the Drik picture agency and a respected photography school, Shahidul Alam is also credited with nurturing a generation of…
