<p>Internet experts from Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia expressed concern about the ongoing regional trend of targeting online intermediaries in attempts to control the flow of information in cyberspace.</p>

<p>The trial of webmaster Chiranuch Premchaiporn, who stands accused of 10 counts of violating the Computer Crime Act (CCA) 2007 as an intermediary who facilitated discussions later deemed as defamatory to Thailand&rsquo;s royal family, ran for five days before the Criminal Court decided to postpone it to September 1 this year.</p>

<p>The trial of the Prachatai Director has been postponed to September and October after 5 days of hearings dealt with 5 witnesses out of 14 in total.</p>

<p>Thanthawut Thaweewarodomkul has told the court that he did not post the allegedly offensive messages and he was forced to confess by police, and insisted that he is not the administrator of www.norporchorusa.com.</p>

<p>On 9 Feb, an investigator from the Technological Crimes Suppression Division (TCSD) testified in court as a prosecution witness in the case of Thanthawut Thaweewarodomkul, the alleged NorPorChorUSA administrator.</p>

<p>The Thai authorities should drop all charges against human rights defender and web forum moderator Chiranuch Premchaiporn, whose trial continues this week, Amnesty International said today.</p>

<p><span lang="EN-GB">The latest edition of The Economist has been refused distribution in Thailand by its distributor due to improper content.</span></p>

<p>Chiranuch Premchaiporn's trial over computer crime charges began yesterday and attracted some 40 supporters and observers, all of whom are interested to see how this case against the freedom of expression pans out. The accused is the director of the non-profit online newspaper Prachatai.com.</p>

<p>The trial has begun in the Criminal Court of Thanthawut Thaweewarodomkul, allegedly the administrator of www.norporchorusa.com.</p> <p><em>(Note: some changes have been made and more details added to the news report)</em></p>

<p>The trial of the Prachatai Director started with testimony from an official from the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology as a prosecution witness.&nbsp; About 40 Thais and foreigners attended the hearing.</p>

<p>The criminal court will conduct the witness hearings on the case of Ms. Chiranuch Premchaiporn from 4 to 17 February 2010. Ms. Chiranuch will appear as the defendant, while the Office of the Special Attorney on Criminal Case 8 which is under Office of the Attorney-General will appear as the prosecutor. This case deals with the penalty related to the intermediary under the Section 15 of the Computer Crime Act which is related to supporting or consenting to an offence related to national security within a computer system under the intermediary’s control.<br /></p>

<p><strong>Reject Internet censorship; repeal the PPPA and Sedition Act</strong></p> <p>We are civil society groups alarmed by recent remarks from top ministerial personnel that revealed government intention to censor online free expression, from hints of &ldquo;cyber sedition regulations&rdquo; and the expansion of the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) to encompass the online media.</p>