Raj Abrar: British television presenter Konnie Huq said she has lost pride in her Bangladeshi homeland following the arrest of renowned photographer Shahidul Alam.
Alam – famous for chronicling human-rights abuses – was arrested by the Dhaka metropolitan police on August 5 for allegedly damaging “the image of the nation”. The photographer, who has covered Bangladesh’s use of death squads and the Rohingya refugee crisis, has been a vocal supporter of student protests in the country.
Many students were arrested following demonstrations over the deaths of two students killed by a speeding bus.
Alam is accused of ‘contravening’ Bangladesh’s Information and Communications Technology Act for an interview he gave to Al Jazeera.
In a short video, former Blue Peter presenter said she was “really appalled at the treatment of Shahidul Alam”.
Huq attended a demonstration against Mr Alam’s incarceration outside the Bangladesh High Commission in London on Friday.
“To be taken by force and put into prison just because of your beliefs is something that I did not think the Bangladesh government was capable of. In recent years it has transpired that that is not the case at all and people are beginning to think of my country, that I used to be very proud of, as one with an objectionable government.”
She added, “I really hope he gets freed. I just want justice.”
She has been a vocal supporter of the campaign for the photographer’s release on social media. In August she tweeted that she was “sickened and upset” by his ongoing detention.
Her sister, British MP for Ealing Central and Acton Rupa Huq, has also campaigned against Mr Alam’s ongoing detention and wrote to staff at the Foreign Office asking them to work for his release.
-Source: ITV