Sunday, August 19, 2018

Speaking the unspeakable in Bangladesh



Protests in Dhaka are about more than road safety. Plus, how the late Tom Wolfe inspires journalists today.


Speaking the unspeakable in Bangladesh

It is rare for traffic accidents to result in international headlines. But that is what happened in Bangladesh - where two road fatalities triggered weeks of protests and landed a renowned photojournalist in prison.
Award-winning photographer Shahidul Alam was arrested and charged for making "false" and "provocative" comments in a TV interview on Al Jazeera. He criticised the alleged excessive use of force on protesters demanding road safety and questioned the legitimacy of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government.
There's a general election coming up later this year, and the government has grown increasingly intolerant of critical voices, especially on the internet. The authorities rely on a vaguely worded law, the Information and Communications Technology Act, which can land anyone publishing "fake and obscene material" online behind bars.





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