Shahidul Alam grimaced as he staggered on his way into a Dhaka courthouse on Aug. 6. Handcuffed and surrounded by the police, he loudly proclaimed he had been tortured after more than 30 plainclothes officers snatched him from his home the night before.

Mr. Alam, an internationally known photographer, educator and human rights advocate, was detained shortly after giving an interview to Al Jazeera and pos ting a series of live videos on Facebook that criticized the government’s violent response to two weeks of student-led protests that began over road safety. Many photojournalists covering the protests, including Mr. Alam, have been attacked by the police and armed gangs linked to the ruling Awami League party.

He has now been charged under Section 57 of Bangladesh’s Information Communications Technology Act, which lets the authorities arrest people who criticize the government online. He remains in jail at least until Sept. 11, when he will have a hearing on a bail request that was filed this week.

Human rights organizations, as well as journalism and photography groups, have loudly protested his imprisonment. The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Bangladeshi authorities “to immediately halt widespread attacks on journalists covering ongoing student protests in Dhaka and to release photographer Shahidul Alam from jail.” Omar Waraich, Amnesty International’s deputy director for South Asia, demanded his immediate and unconditional release. “There is no justification whatsoever for detaining anyone for solely peacefully expressing their views,” he said.