<p>6 January 2009: A recent report has been received concerning the case of Ms. Boonyuen Prasertying, defendant in Black Case No. Or 4326/2551, charged by public prosecutors of Department of Special Litigation 7, Office of the Attorney General, with insulting or threatening the King, Queen, and Heir Apparent.</p>

<p>Following the remarks of Mrs. Ranongrak Suwanchawee, Minister of ICT, regarding plans to spend over 80 million Baht budget for technical apparatus to censor (block) lese majeste websites, as well as plans to expedite legal amendments to give ICT Ministry more carte-blanche powers, members of Thai Netizen Network (TNN) are voicing their concerns regarding such plans. </p>

<p><span><br /> <p align="justify"> Reporters Without Borders is more concerned than ever about the Internet&#39;s future in Thailand after yesterday&#39;s announcement that access to more than 2,300 websites was blocked in 2008, in most cases for lese-majeste (insulting the king), and the new information minister&#39;s pledge to make it her priority to block such online content.</p> <p></p></span></p>

<p>The fall in the number of journalists from the traditional media killed or arrested in 2008 does not mean the press freedom situation has improved. As the print and broadcast media evolve and the blogosphere becomes a worldwide phenomenon, predatory activity is increasingly focusing on the Internet.</p>

<p><span>This morning, Israel started a massive offensive in the Gaza Strip, leaving behind death, destruction and intense suffering. Medical teams, fire fighters and civilians have been working all day to safe those buried under the rubble of destroyed houses, to transport the injured and death to the hospitals, to extinguish the fires, to protect the children, whilst fearing for the lives of their loved ones in the face of renewed attacks. </span></p>

<p><span>The 19 September 2006 coup d&#39;etat has led to government violation of Internet users&#39; rights, blockage of information, and abridgment of freedom of expression. Authorities have enforced cyber laws in order to achieve political ends, without clear, fair, and unbiased guidelines.</span></p>

<p>The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the ongoing legal harassment of BBC correspondent Jonathan Head. Police Lt. Col. Wattanasak Mungkandee filed a third criminal complaint this year against Head on December 23, alleging he had insulted the Thai monarchy in his reporting.</p>

<p>Zeng Jinyan, the wife of jailed human rights activist Hu Jia, thanked European parliamentarians for their support in a video message played on 17 December 2008 to a plenary session of the European parliament during the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought award ceremony. Hu is this year&#39;s winner of the prize, awarded by the European Parliament (<a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/rsf_internet/video/13024651" target="_blank">http://www.dailymotion.com/rsf_internet/video/13024651</a> ).</p>

<p>According to a news report on December 11, 2008, Maj. Gen. Verachai Nakvanich, commander of the Narathiwat Task Force Unit, chaired an event to receive &lsquo;misled people&rsquo; who had decided to attend the People Cooperating to Do Good for the Realm project (Pracharuamjai Thamkuamdeepueapaendin project).</p>

<p>How did the international media report about new Thai Prime Minister? Prachatai selected some to re-present here.</p>

<p>On 8 December 2008, Mr. Tharit Charungvat, Director-General of Department of Information and Spokesman of the Foreign Ministry, sent a letter to the Editor-in-Chief of The Economist to&nbsp;express concerns and displeasure of the people of Thailand over the contents of two articles, &ldquo;A right royal mess&rdquo; and &ldquo;The king and them,&rdquo; published in the 6&ndash;12 December 2008 issue of The Economist magazine. In the letter, Mr. Tharit also pointed out and clarified the inaccuracies in the articles and called for measures to rectify the situation.</p> <p> <br /> </p>

<p>&nbsp;Malaysian human rights group SUARAM released its Overview Report on the situation of human rights in Malaysia in 2008 today, in conjunction with the International Human Rights Day, which also marked the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948.</p>