SC upholds jail division facilities for Shahidul

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the High Court order that had granted division one jail facilities to internationally acclaimed photographer Shahidul Alam.

A four-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain dismissed a leave to appeal petition filed by the government challenging the HC order.

Now, there is no legal bar for Shahidul to get division facilities in jail following the SC order.

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam appeared for the government while Barrister Sara Hossain argued for Shahidul.

Shahidul has been getting division facilities in jail since September 7 following the HC order passed on September 5.

The 63-year-old Shahidul is now in Dhaka Central Jail, held in a case filed against him under the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act for “spreading propaganda and false information against the government”.

He was picked up by law enforcers from his home in the capital’s Dhanmondi area on the night of August 5. Police filed the case against him the following day.