By Prachatai |
<p>Daranee Charnchoengsilpakul, or “Da Torpedo,” a former reporter and political activist once convicted for lèse majesté, passed away this morning (7 May) at Siriraj Hospital, where she was admitted for cancer treatment.</p>
By Prachatai |
<p>Daranee Charnchoengsilpakul, a prominent activist, is suffering from terminal cancer. To raise funds for her, Friends of Da said donations can now be made on <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/mvc.php?route=homepage_norma/search&term=Da%20Torpedo">GoFundMe</a>.</p>
<p>Due to her financial situation, Daranee didn’t get a health check-up on release. A malignant tumour, something she found while in her last years of imprisonment, was not diagnosed. It cannot be denied that this, coupled with poor prison conditions, stress and long-term consumption of painkillers, all contributed to her worsening health. Now, 3 years later, the symptoms of cancer have become apparent.</p>
By Pipob Udomittipong |
<p>Here is the gist of the Constitutional Court’s ruling on the constitutionality of Section 177 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Previously, Da Torpedo’s attorney challenged in the Lower Court (Criminal Court) that the holding of her trial on lèse majesté charges in closed doors is in breach of Section 29 and Section 40(2) of the 2007 Constitution (concerning the rights to fair trial).</p>
<p>Yellow-shirt leader Sondhi Limthongkul will stand trial for lèse majesté in Nov 2011.</p>
<p>On 16 Aug, the court examined the evidence in the case of Sondhi Limthongkul who has been prosecuted for lèse majesté for repeating Da Torpedo’s words which sent her to jail for 18 years. </p>
<p>Sondhi denied all charges in court.</p>
<p>The court set 1 Nov 2011as the starting date for the trial.</p>
<p>Lèse majesté convict Bunyuen Prasertying was recently granted a royal pardon on the occasion of Coronation Day (5 May), and released from jail around the same time as some other convicts, including Suwicha Thakor.</p>
<p>Bunyuen did not look much changed from when she was in prison. Though seemingly not in very good health, and walking unsteadily as a result of an old motorcycle accident, her eyes still shone with enthusiasm.</p>
<p>On 22 Jan, Kittichai Charnchoengsilpakul, Da Torpedo’s brother, together with some 30 activists, red shirts and monks, presented a petition to the Corrections Department, requesting the agency to provide medical treatment for Daranee.</p>
<p>Readers have sent e-mails to <a href="http://smbuyer.consumerthai.org/">Smart Buy magazine</a>, criticizing a column written by a dentist who talks of Da Torpedo’s molar abscess as bad karma resulting from speaking ill of the monarchy.</p>
<p>Daranee Charnchoengsilpakul was visited by her brother and a group of activists on the last day of the year allowed by the prison for visiting inmates.</p>
<p>A group of activists who plan to visit Da Torpedo in prison on 30 Dec invite the media and interested persons to join them. </p>
<p>On 2 Dec, the Social Move group of activists visited Daranee Charnchoengsilpakul at Khlong Prem Prison. They found her still active in discussing political issues, despite the fact that inmates are supposed to be kept away from politics through the prison’s various means of censorship. She was very happy to have received letters from sympathizers in many countries. </p>
<p>On 27 Oct, Prawase Praphanukul, lawyer for Daranee Charnchoengsilpakul, filed an appeal at the Criminal Court, which in late August had sentenced her to 18 years in jail for lèse majesté.</p>