<p>On 25 July, a group of lawyers and red shirts visited 53 red-shirt detainees in Bangkok prisons to give them food and other necessities in a bid to give them moral support and help ease their hardship in prison.</p>

<p><strong>The right to freedom of speech and political opinions shall not be abrogated and misconstrued as a violation of l&egrave;se majest&eacute;</strong></p> <p>We, a coalition of three hundred and fifty-nine Thai writers, whose names are signed herein, declare that our right to freedom of speech within the Thai democratic constitution is being undermined, breached and endangered when it is construed to be a violation of Article 112 of the Criminal Code. We believe this to be an unjust and wrongful act of aggression fabricated by various parties to suppress and deny us our right to express political viewpoints by threatening to press charges, prosecute, imprison, and inflict physical harm simply to serve their self-interest and enhance their political power.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p>

<p>Today marks the third anniversary of the incarceration of Daranee Charnchoengsilpakul, alias &lsquo;Da Torpedo&rsquo;, on charges of l&egrave;se majest&eacute;. In 2008, Ms. Daranee was charged with making several remarks deemed to be l&egrave;se majest&eacute; in speeches on the stage of UDD rallies. She was convicted on three counts of insulting the King and Queen and given a six-year sentence on each count &ndash; in total, an 18 year sentence. The court did not allow for a suspension of her jail term.</p>

<p>It is 63 days since Joe Gordon was first incarcerated, and despite this, he seems considerably well. &quot;Yes, it took a long time, but I've started receiving some medicine now, and it's working,&quot; he says. </p>

<p>The Department of Special Investigation has been investigating 258 cases involving protest rallies of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship and 29 cases of offences against the monarchy.</p>

<p>685 former communist insurgents in Mukdahan and Yasothon provinces have finally been given financial assistance of 225,000 baht each, as was promised to them when they abandoned their armed struggle some three decades ago.</p>

<p>Korean trade unionists have taken turns in staging a &lsquo;one-person picket&rsquo; in front of the Thai Embassy in Seoul to urge the Thai government to release Somyot Prueksakasemsuk, arrested for l&egrave;se majest&eacute; and detained without bail since late April.</p>

<p>Tens of thousands of people from all corners of society gathered in central Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, July 9, to join the Bersih 2.0 march for clean and fair elections, despite the State&rsquo;s mass arrests and threats that have been issued on a daily basis leading up to the rally. The democracy protestors were met with tear gas, water cannon and police violence. </p>

<p>A 5-page leaked document written by Thammasat University's law lecturer Kittisak Prokati who is also a sub-committee member of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) raised questions over the quality and impartiality of the now deferred NHRC's report on the April-May 2010 deadly military crackdown on red shirt protesters.</p>

<p>Mr. Sudeerueman Maleh, former client of disappeared human rights lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit, has been charged with giving false statements to the authorities about being tortured into a confession after trying to obtain justice against police officials. The case in question concerns the theft of weapons at Pileng Military Camp, Narathiwat province, and the alleged torture that took place at Tanyong police station.&nbsp; </p>

<p><span lang="EN-GB" style="">On 8 July, the Appeals Court upheld the 50,000 baht fine on Daranee Charnchoengsilpakul for insulting privy councillors and generals behind the 2006 coup.</span></p>

<p>On 4 July, the Criminal Court sentenced Sathian (family name withheld) to 6 years in jail for lèse majesté and fined him 100,000 baht for illegally selling video CDs, and, as he pleaded guilty, the penalties were reduced by half.</p> <p></p>