<p><em>A joint press release to the Prime Minister of Thailand by international labour and social movement organizations</em></p>
By Asian Legal Resource Centre |
<p>On 8 May 2012, Mr. Amphon Tangnoppakul (also known to his family as "Ah Kong" or "grandfather," and to the public as "Uncle SMS"), a 61-year-old man, was found dead in prison custody. At the time of his death, Amphon was serving a 20-year sentence received upon being convicted of four violations under Article 112 of the Thai Criminal Code and the 2007 Computer Crimes Act in Black Case No. 311/2554 on 23 November 2011. Amphon was convicted for allegedly sending four SMS messages to Mr.</p>
By Tyrell Haberkorn |
<p>On 8 June 2012, one month after Ah Kong (Amphon Tangnoppakul) was found dead in prison custody, <a href="http://www.prachatai.com/english/search/node/thanthawut">Tanthawut Taweewarodomkul</a>, or “Num,” wrote an account of his life and death. Tanthawut, who, like Ah Kong, was serving a sentence following a conviction of alleged violations of the 2007 Computer Crimes Act and Article 112 of the Criminal Code, was imprisoned in the same zone of the Bangkok Remand Prison. Num took care of Ah Kong during the nearly two year period Ah Kong spent behind bars, until his death.</p>
By Asian Legal Resource Centre |
<p>The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) wishes to bring the crisis of freedom of expression in Thailand to the attention of the Human Rights Council. This statement is the third on this topic that the ALRC has submitted to the Council since May 2011. During the seventeenth session of the Council in May 2011, the ALRC highlighted the rise in the legal and unofficial use of section 112 of the Criminal Code and the 2007 Computer Crimes Act (CCA) to constrict freedom of expression and intimidate citizens critical of the monarchy (A/HRC/17/NGO/27).</p>
By Andrew Spooner |
<p>After years of waiting for Amnesty International's support, lese majeste detainees hope smuggled letter will bring NGO on board</p>
<p>The following is an English translation of a letter addressed directly to Amnesty International from a political prisoner in Thailand, <a href="http://www.prachatai.com/english/search/node/thanthawut">Thanthawut Taweewarodomkul</a>, who was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment for breaching Thailand's draconian lese majeste law.</p>
By Andrew Spooner |
<p>This is part two of my look at human rights groups, lese majeste and political prisoners in Thailand. Part one can be found <a href="http://www.prachatai.com/english/node/3249">here</a>.</p>
<p>Video clip of panel discussion on the lese majeste law held on 7 June in Bangkok with speakers including Benedict Anderson, Pravit Rojanaphruk, Andrew MacGregor Marshall (via Skype), and Sulak Sivaraksa, moderated by Lisa Gardner.</p>
By Andrew Spooner |
<p>A little background to this piece. The main research and interviews were completed earlier this year and so may seem a little dated now. However, I interviewed 9 lese majeste prisoners at the Bangkok Remand Prison and about 8 political prisoners at the “new” Lak Si political prison. One of the lese majeste prisoners I interviewed was Ah Kong – who I met on two occasions and who died in May 2012. Obviously it now seems horribly ironic when he told me personally that “conditions improved” after the Pheu Thai government were elected in 2011.</p>
By Marwaan Macan-Markar, IPS |
<p>BANGKOK, Jun 5, 2012 (IPS) - When Thai police raided the headquarters of the popular alternative news portal ‘Prachatai’ and arrested its executive director, Chiranuch Premchaiporn, back in 2009, the 46-year-old media worker was completely in the dark about her crime.</p>
By Andrew Spooner |
<p>This article is, of course, in reply to <a href="http://www.prachatai.com/english/node/3241">Pravit’s article</a> directed at my Twitter responses to his stated position – that he privileges the rights of large powerful media companies to intimidate, harass and threaten young Thai women, over the rights of these young Thai women to live their lives free of such intimidation.</p>
By Asian Human Rights Commission |
<p>On 30 May 2012, the Criminal Court read its verdict in the case in Black Case No. 1667/2553, in which Chiranuch Premchaiporn was charged with ten alleged violations of the 2007 Computer Crimes Act (CCA). Chiranuch is the 44-year-old webmaster of Prachatai, an independent online news site, which has served as an important platform for critical news, discussion, and debate for over seven years in Thailand. The charges against her in this case stemmed from her alleged failure to remove comments deemed offensive to the monarchy from the Prachatai webboard quickly enough.</p>
By Human Rights Watch |
<p><em>Web Manager Convicted for Failing to Remove Lese Majeste Content</em></p>
<p>(New York, May 30, 2012) – The conviction of a prominent website manager on computer crimes charges highlights the Thai government’s growing misuse of laws intended to protect the monarchy, Human Rights Watch said today. Imposing a prison sentence adds to the climate of fear and self-censorship in Thailand’s media, Human Rights Watch said.</p>