Shahidul Alam (born 1955) is a Bangladeshi media institution builder, a photojournalist, public speaker, storyteller, writer, blogger, curator, and educationist.

Alam founded Drik Picture Library in 1989, Pathshala in 1998, the Chobi Mela International Photography Festival in 1999, and Majority World in 2004.

Alam has covered news events including natural disasters, governmental upheavals, the deaths of garment factory workers, human rights abuses, Bangladeshi government and military's repression and the "disappearances" of political opponents.

[19] RAB was established in 2004 as a paramilitary force to combat gangsters and thugs in the streets, but in late 2007, the battalion was accused of over 350 extrajudicial killings and the torturing of hundreds more.

[20] The closure by RAB and the local police of the 2010 exhibition titled Crossfire on the topic of extrajudicial killings sparked nationwide protests.

[26][14][27][28] Alam was believed to have been arrested for saying that the protests "stemmed from anger about widespread government corruption, and not just the bus accident that initially sparked them.

[12][13] The Supreme Court halted the seven-day remand on 7 August, and after observing his physical condition ordered authorities to admit him to a hospital.

Amplified through hashtag #FreeShahidulAlam, Alam also received an outpouring of support in the media from Nobel Laureates, authors, fellow photographers, artists, intellectuals, friends and family.

The Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organisation issued a statement that was signed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Shirin Ebadi, Tawakkol Karman, Richard Branson, Richard Curtis, Professor Muhammad Yunus, Óscar Arias Sánchez, José Manuel Ramos-Horta, and Gro Harlem Brundtland amongst others.

[37] This was an adaptation from a letter posted a day earlier on Twitter by Hollywood star Sharon Stone which also included signatories such as Jimmy Wales.

[38] A joint statement by leading British artists and curators was signed amongst others by Anish Kapoor, Akram Khan, and Steve McQueen.

[46] In Dhaka, on October 16, around 100 photographers formed a human chain at the base of Raju Memorial Sculpture under the banner of "Shahidul Alam Er Muktir Dabitey Alokchitribrindo".

[47] On the other hand, Sajeeb Wazed, the son of Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, questioned those defending and demanding freedom of Alam in a controversial Facebook post.

[53][54] On March 4, 2019, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police revoked an invitation for Arundhati Roy's talk scheduled as part of the 10th edition of Chobi Mela International Photography Festival.

[55][56][57] On 21 November 2023, authorities from the German cities of Mannheim, Ludwigshafen, and Heidelberg canceled the 10th edition of the Biennale für aktuelle Fotografie taking place in March 2024.

Alam had criticised the genocidal attacks on the Palestinians in Gaza by the Israeli project on his social media accounts, which was deemed "anti-semitic".