Where it took place
| Type | Place |
|---|---|
| Region | Asia |
| Country | Bangladesh |
Campaign at a glance
After photographer Shahidul Alam was jailed under Section 57 of Bangladesh’s ICT Act in August 2018, photographers, activists, and Nobel laureates combined street art, gallery exhibitions, social-media campaigns, and a national student strike to win his release after 107 days in custody. [source: nv-database]
Tactics used
- ‘[street-art
- exhibitions
- social-media-campaign
- human-chain
- national-strike]‘
Background
Within hours of telling Al Jazeera that student road-safety protests revealed deep discontent with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government, 63-year-old photographer Shahidul Alam was dragged from his Dhaka flat by 20 plainclothes officers on 5 August 2018, tortured in custody, and charged under Section 57 of the ICT Act for “spreading propaganda.” [source: nv-database]
What happened
Activist niece Sofie Karim publicized the case on Instagram; journalists, academics, photographers, and filmmakers issued signed statements and joint declarations, Amnesty International gathered over 5,000 petition signatures, and 473 Indian artists and filmmakers posted a Facebook open letter. [source: nv-database]
By 11 August, a Bangladesh rally brought photographers Taslima Akhter Lima and Shirin Haque onto the streets of Dhaka; on 19 August, nine Nobel laureates including Desmond Tutu, Jody Williams, and Muhammad Yunus released a joint statement calling the ICT Act “draconian.” [source: nv-database] Peru’s Alta Tecnologia Andina and Cultural Centre Ricardo Palma opened the exhibition “Shahidul Alam: A Voice from the Shadows” on 24 August; Drik Gallery in Dhaka inaugurated “A Struggle for Democracy” on 4 September; from 8-28 October, UK galleries, museums, and universities displayed a single Alam image as the campaign’s rallying visual. [source: nv-database]
In Shahbagh on 9 September, “Let Democracy Be Free” featured participants wearing paper bags (“We are not supposed to have heads”), a guitarist in a makeshift cage representing BCL attackers, and others holding Alam cutouts in front of their own faces. [source: nv-database] A Bangladesh Chhatra Federation national strike hit 17 September, and on 16 October dozens of Dhaka photographers formed a human chain at Dhaka University, raising their cameras in protest. [source: nv-database] After courts denied bail on 11 September and Amnesty declared Alam a prisoner of conscience, he was released on 20 November after 107 days. [source: nv-database] Broader press-freedom reform remained unaddressed. [source: nv-database]
Key people & organizations
- Shahidul Alam (photographer; jailed 5 Aug-20 Nov 2018)
- Sofie Karim (social-media amplifier via Instagram)
- Taslima Akhter Lima and Shirin Haque (Dhaka-based photographers)
- Alta Tecnologia Andina (Peru); Cultural Centre Ricardo Palma; Drik Gallery (Dhaka)
- Transparency International Bangladesh; Reporters Without Borders; Committee to Protect Journalists; Amnesty International; Index on Censorship; ARTICLE 19; Prince Claus Fund; Free Press Unlimited; World Press Photo Foundation; Human Rights Watch; United Nations
- 473 Indian artists and filmmakers; 9 Nobel laureates (Desmond Tutu, Jody Williams, Muhammad Yunus, Tawakkol Karman, Oscar Arias, José Ramos-Horta, Mairead Maguire, Betty Williams, Sir Richard J. Roberts, Amartya Sen)
- Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina (adversary)
Outcome
Verdict: won. (7.5/10 on the GNVAD scale.)
Shahidul Alam was released on bail after 107 days in custody on 20 November 2018, but broader freedom-of-press goals were not achieved; treatment of journalists became internationally visible. [source: nv-database]
Lessons
- Artists and cultural figures can drive a human-rights campaign with tactics — exhibitions, performances, social media — that journalists and lawyers cannot.
- International solidarity from prestigious figures (nine Nobel laureates, 473 Indian artists) amplified pressure even when the domestic opposition was fractured.
- Paper-bag symbolism (“We are not supposed to have heads”) and single-image exhibitions reach audiences who do not attend rallies; cultural tactics reach the “unmoved middle.”
- Winning the individual’s release did not move the underlying law; campaigns against specific tools like Section 57 of the ICT Act need follow-through beyond a single high-profile case.
Sources
Disclaimer: Included as a teaching example of campaign craft, not as endorsement.
Sources & verification
nv-database— grounding: primary — license: link-only