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<div> <div>An unknown guarantor has offered bail for a blind woman convicted of royal defamation in Yala.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On 25 January 2018, Adilan Ali-ishok, from the Yala Muslim Attorney Centre, told Prachatai that the court had granted bail to Nuruhayati Masoe, 23, a blind woman accused of lèse majesté, a violation of Article 112 of the Criminal Code.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Nuruhayati’s relatives revealed that two days earlier, an officer from Yala Provincial Court told them that the convict had been released on bail. </div></div>
<div> <div>A royalist academic said he had no other choice but to petition the King to encourage the junta to end a prosecution against him for lèse majesté.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>After a military prosecutor dropped a royal defamation charge against Sulak Sivaraksa, the renowned social critic and historian posted on 24 January on his Facebook page an article entitled “<a href="https://www.facebook.com/sulak.sivaraksa/photos/a.10151360922012798.1073741826.114459752797/10155754777807798/?type=3&amp;theater&amp;ifg=1">Lessons from the latest political lawsuit of S. </a></div></div>
<div> <div>The anti-election monk has urged the police to stop harassing his disciples after the authorities visited his temple to investigate the lèse majesté allegation against him.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On 9 January 2018, Suvit Theerathammo, abbot of Wat Or Noi temple, and his lawyer visited the police’s Crimes Suppression Division to ask information about the lèse majesté lawsuit that he is facing.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>The monk claimed that many police officers have come to his temple and questioned his disciples about Suvit’s personal information.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp; </div></div>
<div> <div>The authorities have repeatedly denied access to a legal document which deals with the question of whether Princess Sirindhorn was an heir apparent to the throne of King Bhumibol, saying that the document could damage the monarchy if published.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On 12 December 2017, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR)&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="http://www.tlhr2014.com/th/?p=5810">reported</a> that the Office of the Council of State&nbsp;(OCS) had denied their lawye </div></div>
<div>Citing the King’s wishes, a former lèse majesté prisoner has filed a petition urging the junta head to use his absolute power to abolish the lèse majesté law.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On 12 September 2017, Ekachai Hongkangwan <a href="https://prachatai.com/journal/2017/09/73190">filed a petition</a> to junta head Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha to invoke Section 44 of the Interim Constitution to terminate Article 112 of the Criminal Code, the lèse majesté law.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>He said that after Jatuphat Boonpattaraksa, also known as Pai Dao Din, pleaded guilty of lèse majesté last mont </div>
By Kornkritch Somjittranukit |
<div> <div>Over the past week, a teenage singer was slammed by nationalists after complaining about her country on Twitter. A lecturer put a student in a headlock for protesting a university ceremony. And various prosecution cases moved forward against human rights advocates and politicians.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Late last week, Thai social media heated up over <a href="http://www.prachatai.org/english/node/7308">tweets from a pop singer</a> called ‘Image’ who had expressed her discontent at living in Thailand. </div></div>
<div>The Army Cyber Centre (ACC) claims to have taken down 435 websites committing lèse majesté since October last year, when King Bhumibol passed away. </div>
<div> <div>Facebook has complied with a request from the junta to restrict user access to a video posted by an exiled critic of the monarchy, citing Thailand’s newly amended Computer Crimes Act.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On 4 May 2017, the exiled academic Somsak Jeamteerasakul <a href="https://www.facebook.com/somsakjeam/posts/1302945343092075">announced</a> on his Facebook page that he had received an email from Facebook informing him that one of his posts violates Thailand’s <a href="https://prachatai.com/english/node/6785">2007 Computer Crimes Act (CCA)</a>. </div></div>
By OHCHR |
<div>The United Nations Human Rights Office for South-East Asia (OHCHR) urges the Thai Government to halt the practice of arbitrary detention of political activists, and to immediately release six people recently charged with criticising authorities.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On 29 April 2017, two political activists - Mr. Danai Tibsuya, a former military officer from Chiang Mai, and Mr. Prawet Prapanukul, a Bangkok-based lawyer - were arrested and detained by the military under the lese-majeste law for criticising the King on Facebook. </div>
By Jamorn Sornpetchnarin |
By Kornkritch Somjittranukit |
<div>The junta has restarted its restless hunt for Wuthipong Kachathamkun, also known as Ko Tee, an exiled hard-core red-shirt leader. The junta claim he is involved in a plot to assassinate the junta head. But who is he actually?</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On 18 March, a combined force of police and military searched nine houses and arrested nine people allegedly involved in a plot to assassinate the junta leader Gen Prayut Chan-ocha. </div>
By Taweesak Kerdpoka |
<div><em>&quot;That week I could visit him only once. Pai asked me if I had changed my mind about him. He said like he is a prisoner already but he said I&rsquo;m still young and still have a better future than this.&quot;</em></div><div>&nbsp;</div>