<p>Last week in Geneva, Switzerland, Thailand&rsquo;s freedom of expression record came under particular scrutiny during the <a href="http://bit.ly/oIpZCz">Universal Periodic Review at the United Nations Human Rights Council</a>.</p>

<p>On 10 Oct, Joe Gordon pleaded guilty at the Criminal Court after having been detained without bail for 139 days.</p>

<p><font face="Arial">GENEVA &ndash; The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Frank La Rue, today urged the Government of Thailand to amend its laws on <i>l&egrave;se majest&eacute;</i>. According to Section 112 of the Thai penal code, &lsquo;whoever defames, insults or threatens the King, the Queen, the Heir to the throne or the Regent shall be punished with imprisonment of three to fifteen years.&rsquo;</font> </p>

<p>With the conspicuous absence of input from the US, representatives of a dozen countries including France, Germany, the UK and Australia have recommended that the Thai government amend the lese majeste law to bring the country's level of freedom of expression in line with international standards.</p>

<p><em>Government report on state of several issues like lese majeste differs from those submitted by local NGOs</em></p> <p>This is the first of a two-part report comparing different versions of Thailand's first-ever Universal Periodic Review report on the human-rights situation here, which will be discussed at the UN's Human Rights Council in Geneva on Wednesday.</p>

<p>On 30 Sept, during the last hearing of his case in the Criminal Court, <a href="http://www.prachatai.com/english/search/node/Amphon%20Tangnoppakul">Amphon Tangnoppakul</a> insisted that he had never sent messages offensive to the monarchy to former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva&rsquo;s personal secretary through his mobile phone as alleged.</p>

<p>Two weeks ago, on September 19, as Thailand marked the fifth anniversary of the coup that ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra from power, a group of academics, known as the Nitirat group, called a press conference to call for the expunging of all records and judicial decisions originating from the 2006 coup, the drafting of a new charter, as well as the amendment of the controversial lese majeste law by making it less draconian.</p>

<p>On 27 Sept, a group of activists gathered in front of the US Embassy in Bangkok to call on the US government to protect the rights and freedoms of its citizen, Joe Gordon, who has been detained without bail for 4 months on charges of l&egrave;se majest&eacute;.</p>

<p>A group of artists in Chiang Mai has gone on hunger strike for 112 hours in a public bid to amend Article 112 of the Criminal Code, or the l&egrave;se majest&eacute; law.&nbsp;</p>

<p>On 23 Sept, Amphon Tangnoppakul, 61, was brought to the Criminal Court for the first hearing of his case.&nbsp; He is charged with having sent messages offensive to the monarchy to former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva&rsquo;s personal secretary through his mobile phone in May last year.</p>

<p><em>&ldquo;Prachatai exists to promote human rights&rdquo;</em></p> <p>The judge presiding over the trial of Chiranuch Premchaiporn, webmaster of Thailand&rsquo;s independent online news portal, Prachatai, arrived late to court today [21 Sept]. This gave regular observers, local and international activists, NGOs, media representatives and diplomatic staff great pause for concern.</p>

<p>Thai webmaster Chiranuch Premchaiporn, facing criminal charges as an intermediary under the Computer Crime Act (CCA), on Wednesday told a court that she had implemented various precautionary measures in trying to prevent unlawful content on her Prachatai web boards.</p>