BNP, Jamaat, and Islami Andolan call on government to secure release of Shahidul Alam from Gaza flotilla

Staff Reporter | PNN:
The BNP, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, and Islami Andolan Bangladesh have urged the government to take immediate steps to release photographer and Managing Director of Shahidul Alam, Shahidul Alam, who has been detained aboard a Gaza-bound relief flotilla, and ensure his safe return to the country.

In separate statements this afternoon, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Jamaat Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar, and Islami Andolan spokesperson Joint Secretary General Gazi Ataur Rahman made the appeals.

Earlier today, at around 10:15 AM Bangladesh time, Shahidul Alam posted a video message on social media stating that the vessel Conscience, on which they were traveling, was stopped by Israeli forces in the open sea, and that he had been subjected to detention.

The flotilla is part of an international initiative by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) and Thousand Madelines to Gaza (TMTG). Its mission was to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and support the freedom of the press, carrying journalists and medical personnel on board.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir emphasized that it is the government’s moral and international duty to ensure Shahidul Alam’s immediate release and safe return.

Jamaat Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar called for international pressure on Israel to ensure humanitarian aid reaches the starving and besieged people of Gaza and demanded the unconditional release of Shahidul Alam and all human rights activists.

Islami Andolan spokesperson Gazi Ataur Rahman added, “Shahidul Alam has carried our collective compassion for the people of Gaza. Ensuring his safety and release is a matter of national dignity and honor. The government must take the highest-level action immediately.”

The safe release and return of Shahidul Alam has now become a matter of national human rights concern and international responsibility.