<p dir="ltr">As academic freedom is under threat since the military coup d'etat took place on 22 May, over 200 academics and university students on Wednesday urged the president of the Council of University Presidents of Thailand to review its role in upholding the principles of universities as the sources of wisdom and uphold the freedom of expression, especially in the universities. </p>
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<div><em>Update: Phayao and Nattapat Akkakad were released without charge.
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<div>A Thai royalist on Tuesday filed a lèse majesté complaint against Andrew McGregor Marshall , former Reuters journalist, for writing books and articles allegedly defaming the King.</div>
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<div><span style="font-size: 12px;">According to the ultra-royalist </span><a href="http://www.chaoprayanews.com/2014/12/09/%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%98%E0%B8%87%E0%B8%8A%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%A2%E0%B9%81%E0%B8%88%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%87%E0%B8%84%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A1/" style="font-size: 12px;">Chaopraya News</a><span style="font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12px;"</p>
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<div><span style="font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.php?newsid=1418018631&typecate=06&section=">Khaosod English </a>— A military spokesperson has dismissed rumours that security officers locked a group of women and children inside a mosque while they searching for potential insurgents in the southern province of Songkhla last week. </span></div>
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<div>The military in the northeastern province of Khon Kaen summoned a woman bullied for posting a picture of her and her friends wearing black around the King’s birthday to teach her how to properly show love to the King.
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<p>The military demolished a roadside souvenir stall and confiscated fruit, wine and other processed fruit products in a northern touristic province allegedly because they believed the ‘square face’ logo on the products symbolized the controversial ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.</p>
<p>Five ‘men in black’ suspects accused of taking part in the deadly political violence on 10 April 2010 denied all charges that the prosecutors filed against them.</p>
<p>Winyat Chatmontree, a lawyer from Free Thai Legal Aid (FTLA), stated on Monday that the five suspects known as the ‘men in black,’ charged with possession of unauthorized and illegal weapons of war, such as M79 grenade launchers, M16s, HK33s and explosive devices during the violent military crackdown on 10 April 2010 against red-shirt protesters, denied all charges filed against them by the prosecutors on Monday.</p>
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<div>The Thai authorities in the Northeast have summoned a woman for interrogation after she used a picture of herself and friends wearing black on her Facebook profile picture and cover photo during the King’s birthday weekend. </div>
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<div><span style="font-size: 12px;">Internal Security Operations Command summoned Aree K., an employee of Srinagarind Hospital, the teaching hospital for Khon Kaen University’s Faculty of Medicine, for interrogation after Thai internet royalists widely bullied her on Facebook, according to </span><a href="http://www.manager.co.th/L</p>
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<p>Activists from Thailand’s restive Deep South voiced concerns that the security measures in which a whole village was surrounded and villagers detained could lead to further violence after reported confrontations between security officers and alleged southern insurgents.</p>
<p>A confrontation between the security forces and about eight members of an alleged insurgent group reportedly started around Thursday noon in Saba Yoi District of Songkhla. The 20-minute skirmish left two police officers injured.</p>
<div><span style="font-size: 12px;">Freedom House, a human rights advocacy group based in Washington D.C., on Thursday revealed its <a href="https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/freedom-net-2014#.VIEzbDGsUf0">2014 Freedom on the Net</a> report, which categorizes <a href="https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/2014/thailand">Thailand’s Internet</a> as ‘not free’, while categorizing <a href="https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/2014/myanmar">Myanmar Internet</a> as ‘partly free.’ </span></div>
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<div>This is a reversal from 2013, when Thailand was
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<p dir="ltr">A leader of southern landless communities was shot dead after leading a campaign against the private oil palm plantation allegedly utilized lands given to the communities.</p>
<p>Somsuk Kohklang, a 50-year-old land rights village activist from the southern province of Krabi was shot dead Wednesday afternoon while driving motorcycle with his wife in an oil palm plantation in Muang District of Krabi.</p>
<p>A leader of southern landless communities was shot dead after leading a campaign against a private oil palm plantation allegedly using land given to the communities.</p>
<p>Somsuk Kohklang, a 50-year-old land rights village activist from the southern province of Krabi was shot dead on Wednesday afternoon while driving a motorcycle with his wife in an oil palm plantation in Muang District of Krabi.</p>