<p>29 Jan 2015 -- Three recent decisions by the Bangkok Military Tribunal affirming its jurisdiction over civilians violate international law and represent another serious setback for human rights in Thailand, the ICJ said.</p> <p>“International standards are clear – military tribunals are not competent to prosecute civilians,” said Wilder Tayler, ICJ’s Secretary General. “Military tribunals are not independent from the executive and the lack of an appeal removes any possibility of a remedy against the judgments of the Tribunal.”</p>

<p id="E23" qowt-divtype="para" qowt-eid="E23" style="list-style-type:none;"><span id="E24" qowt-eid="E24">Bangkok’s Military Court dismissed a petition submitted by a prominent red-shirt figure </span><span id="E25" qowt-eid="E25">questioning</span><span id="E26" qowt-eid="E26"> whether the jurisdiction of the military court o</span><span id="E27" qowt-eid="E27">ver</span><span id="E28" qowt-eid="E28"> civilian cases </span><span id="E29" qowt-eid="E29">violates</span><span id="E30" qowt-eid="E30"> the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). &nbsp;</span></p>

<p>The court sentenced a former lèse majesté&nbsp;convict&nbsp;to two months and 20 days in prison for failing to report to the junta in June.</p> <p>The ex-lèse majesté&nbsp;convict is the first to be sentenced to a term of imprisonment for failing to report to the junta. Unlike others who pleaded guilty to defying coup orders, the court did not suspend the jail term because he was once convicted under lèse majesté law in 2009.&nbsp;</p>

<div>A red-shirt poet whose lèse majesté case is being tried by a military court has made the extraordinary decision to fight the case despite the dim chances of winning.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On Wednesday, the military court scheduled the first witness hearing for 2 April. There are 10 witnesses in total.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>His case is being tried in camera at a military court after the court said his crimes--writing poems-- are severe since his poems touched on the revered Thai monarchy. </div>

<div> <div>The military court in Chiang Rai on Thursday ruled to proceed with the trial of a lèse majesté case despite an obvious lack of intention on the part of the defendant who allegedly was out of his mind when committing the crime.&nbsp;</div> </div>

<p>In an unprecedented decision a military court has granted bail to a 50-year-old cook, accused of possessing illegal weapons after having denied her bail request four times.</p>

<div>On the occasion of International Human Rights Day on 10 December, the French Embassy in Bangkok will present an award to the anti-coup Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, which is one of a few organization providing legal assistance to those affected by the 2014 military coup d’état, and suspects facing lèse-majesté charges&nbsp;.&nbsp;</div> <p></p>

<div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">Record on lese majeste cases since 2010 shows that the military court is likely to hold &nbsp;more trials in camera and sentence lese majeste convicts to more years in prison in comparison to the civilian court.</span></div> <div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;">&nbsp;</div> <p></p>

<div> <div>The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) strongly criticizes the conviction against a Thai editor and calls for his immediate release.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> </div> <div>Somsak Pakdeedech*&nbsp;was the editor of Thai E-News and was sentenced on Monday to four and half years, which was half the original sentence because he pled guilty, for defaming Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej under the country’s lѐse majesté laws. </div>

<div> <div>The military court on Friday made the unprecedented decision to grant bail to a lèse majesté suspect.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>The Bangkok military court on Friday at 2 pm granted 400,000 baht bail to a man known by his pen name as Bundit Aneeya, a 73-year-old writer and translator, who was arrested on Wednesday for making a comment during a seminar that allegedly defamed the King.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>The bail conditions include that the suspect will stop joining political activity and stop expressing opinion which may instigate the people.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp; </div></div>

<div>A military court has sentenced an anti-coup politician who failed to report to the military to a year in prison. The penalty was halved and the jail term was suspended because the defendant pleaded guilty. </div>

<div> <div>For the fourth time the military court refused to grant bail to a man accused of writing graffiti mainly criticizing the junta and making reference to the king in the restrooms of a shopping mall, despite the suspect’s severe health conditions.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>The military court on Monday for the fourth time declined a 2.5 million baht bail request of Opas C., a 67-year-old man charged with writing seditious messages which expressed disapproval of the junta and the Democrat Party and contained a physical description of the king.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>According t </div></div>