SC upholds jail division one facilities for Shahidul

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has upheld a High Court order that had granted division one jail facilities to noted photographer Shahidul Alam.

Appellate Division’s vacation judge-in Chamber Justice Muhammad Imman Ali passed the order on Monday.

The court also directed the government to file a regular application seeking permission to appeal against the High Court order regarding his division.

On September 10, the government filed the provisional application to stay the division 1 status to Shahidul Alam in the jail on the pretext that his activities were against national interest and subversive to the state.

On September 5, a vacation bench of Justice Borhanuddin and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman granted division 1 status in the jail to Shahidul Alam.

The court had also directed the government and the jail authorities to explain why their failure to grant division 1 status to Shahidul Alam would not be declared illegal.

Earlier, Shahidul Alam’s wife and columnist Rahnuma Ahmed in a writ petition challenged Dhaka Central Jail authorities’ refusal to keep him in division 1 of the prison as directed by the chief metropolitan magistrate court on August 27.

On August 5, Shahidul Alam was picked up at his Dhanmondi residence and took him to the office of the Detective Branch for interrogations.

On September 11, Dhaka metropolitan sessions judge Imrul Kayes rejected Shahidul Alam’s bail petition.