<p>A military court in northern Thailand has released a man after he spent more than a month in detention accused of defaming the Thai Crown Prince.</p>
<p>On 17 November 2016, the Military Court of northern Chiang Rai Province granted bail to Sarawut (surname withheld due to privacy concerns), a 32-year-old optometrist, <a href="http://www.tlhr2014.com/th/?p=2800">Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported</a>.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><em><strong>Updated</strong>: According to the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR), the Military Court of Bangkok on 16 November 2016 has denied the bail request for Bundit Aneeya. He will be detained in Bangkok Remand Prison for the first custody period from 16-29 November 2016 with the possibility of the custody permission being renewed. </em></p>
<p dir="ltr"><em>Updated2: on 17 November, Bangkok Military Court granted bail for Bundit with 400,000 baht in cash as surety. </em></p>
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<div>A fraudster has been arrested for lèse majesté after deceiving villagers into thinking she was a volunteer nurse under one of the late King’s royal projects. </div>
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<div>On 11 November 2016, police officers in Nakhon Sawan Province arrested Wandi Laikhlaidok, 48, for defamation, fraud and lèse majesté.
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<p>The Royal Thai Police have announced that they are now working on 194 lèse majesté cases.</p>
<p>On 9 November 2016, Pol Maj Gen Songphon Wattanachai, Deputy Spokesperson of the Royal Thai Police (RTP), announced that the police have documented 194 alleged violations of Article 112 of the Criminal Code, the lèse majesté law.</p>
<p>The officer added that 10 persons have already been arrested while the authorities are now trying to arrest 17 more.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Somyot Prueksakasemsuk, a long-time labour activist turned lèse majesté suspect, will be the first non-Korean activist to be awarded a prestigious prize by Korean trade unions.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions has announced it will award Somyot Prueksakasemsuk with the Jeon Tae-il Labour Prize to recognise his dedication to labour rights, <a href="http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1128777/somyot-wins-prestigious-korean-trade-union-award">the Bangkok Post reported</a>.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The Chiang Rai Military Court has for the third time denied bail to a man accused of lèse majesté for posting images of the Thai Crown Prince.</p>
<p dir="ltr">On 3 November 2016, the Military Court of the northern province of Chiang Rai granted police permission to continue to detain Sarawut (surname withheld due to privacy concerns), a 32-year-old optometrist, the <a href="http://www.tlhr2014.com/th/?p=2672">Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported</a>.</p>
<p dir="ltr">After tasking the Army Cyber Centre with a lèse majesté hunt, the Thai government has claimed it has blocked about 900 URLs with content deemed insulting to the Thai Monarchy or threatening to national security.</p>
<p dir="ltr">On 2 October 2016, ACM Prajin Janthong, a deputy minister and caretaker Minister for Digital Economy and Society (DE), said that so far the centre has blocked 200 URLs with content allegedly violating Article 112 of the Criminal Code, the lèse majesté law, in accordance with the junta’s order.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Thailand’s army chief has said that the Army Cyber Centre will closely monitor news deemed defamatory to the Thai Monarchy.</p>
<p dir="ltr">On 1 November 2016, Gen Chalermchai Suthisad, Commander in Chief of the Royal Thai Army (RTA), said that the army will use its cyber centres to monitor distorted news from within and outside the country. This relates especially to news that violates Article 112, the lèse majesté law, of the Criminal Code, <a href="https://www.matichonweekly.com/featured/article_13296">Matichon Online reported</a>.</p>
<p dir="ltr">In a raid on a tattoo parlor, police arrested a 16-year-old teenager who allegedly posted a lèse majesté message on a fake Facebook account posing as his girlfriend’s stepmother. The fake account and the post had been made at his girlfriend’s request.</p>
<p>A teenager in southern Thailand has accused a transwoman of creating a fake Facebook account to post a lèse majesté message.</p>
<p>On 25 October 2016, Natthakan (surname withheld due to privacy concerns), a 17-year-old woman, filed a complaint at Kantang District Police Station in the southern province of Trang.</p>
<p>She reported that images of her holding a pistol along with a message deemed defamatory to the Thai Monarchy were posted in a Facebook account titled ‘Nubowi Rak Piommi’.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Ultra-royalist Thais living abroad have harassed fellow Thais accused of insulting the Thai monarchy.</p>
<p dir="ltr">On 22 October 2016, a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1L8lBC9KH0">Youtube clip</a> showing a few Thai women in Sweden looking for a Thai woman named ‘Wanphen’ was posted.</p>
<p>A deputy junta head has asked Google and YouTube to cooperate in blocking websites and videos with alleged lèse majesté content.</p>
<p>On 21 October 2016, Deputy Prime Minister ACM Prajin Junthong invited Ann Lavin, Director of Public Policy of Google’s Southeast Asia and Greater China office, for a meeting at Government House.</p>