<p>We, the undersigned organizations, groups and networks, concerned about migrant and worker rights, are appalled at Malaysia&rsquo;s unjust, discriminatory and&nbsp; inconstitutional anti-worker policy, known as &lsquo;Foreign Workers First Out&rsquo; (FWFO) policy when it comes to retrenchment.</p>

<p>On March 11, the Prime Minister met with a group of cyber activists, and told them that the arrest of the Prachatai Director was not his government&rsquo;s policy and not beneficial to any party. He asked the activists for details of the arrest, and said that the crackdown on websites as periodically announced by the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (MICT) had affected the country&rsquo;s image and that was cause for concern.</p>

<p><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: &#39;Calibri&#39;,&#39;sans-serif&#39;"> <p>In light of the arrest of Prachatai Director Chiranuch Premchaiporn on March 6, Prachatai Editor Chuwat Rerksirisuk expresses his thanks to the many people who immediately showed their support.<span>&nbsp; </span>They included Assoc Prof Dr Chantana Banpasirichote Wankaew who, without hesitation, offered to be the guarantor, academics and activists who, though virtually without any personal relationship with Chiranuch and Prachatai, showed up at the Police Crime Suppression Division, as well as fellow NGOs, the Students Federation of Thailand, alternative media outlets, the Netizen, and many others. </p> <p></p></span></p>

<p><span>The new government of Thailand should ensure that those responsible for the enforced disappearance and presumed murder of prominent Muslim human rights lawyer, Somchai Neelappaijit, are finally brought to justice, Human Rights Watch said today, five years after his abduction.</span></p>

<p>Reference is made to the arrest of Ms. Chiranuch Premchaiporn, web director of the online newspaper Prachatai (http://http://www.prachatai.com/), by the police at approximately 2.30 pm on Friday March 6, 2009, after which the police interrogated her, copied the hard disk in her personal notebook computer, and charged her with violation of Sections 14(1), 14(3), 14(5), and (15) of the 2007 Computer Crime Act.</p>

<p>&nbsp;(SEAPA/IFEX) - On 5 March 2009, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva turned down an international call for the reform of l&egrave;se-majest&eacute; law but hinted some amendment to the enforcement of the law could be considered to allow for expression of academic opinions.</p>

<p>AHRC - It was reported on Sunday, March 8 that according to the Prime Minister of Thailand, Abhisit Vejjajiva, the arrested director of the independent news agency Prachatai is entitled to make a complaint if she feels that the police action against her was unjustified. The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has already condemned in the strongest possible terms the raid on the Prachatai office and arrest of its director on March 6 on charges under the country&#39;s draconian computer new law (<a href="http://www.ahrchk.net/statements/mainfile.php/2009statements/1925/" target="_blank">AHRC-STM-051-2009</a>). According to the Bangkok Post, the prime minister said that the arrest was a matter of law enforcement, but that the accused director, Chiranuch Premchaiporn had a right to complain if she thinks otherwise. </p>

<p><span>Somchai Neelapaichit has been missing since 12 March 2004, when he was last seen in Bangkok being forced into a car with a group of men. At the time of his disappearance, he was Chairman of the Muslim Lawyers Association and Vice-Chairman of the Human Rights Committee of the Law Society of Thailand, and was representing five Muslims accused of terrorism-related activities in the Southern provinces. Five years on, the investigation into the circumstances of his enforced disappearance remains incomplete and the whereabouts of his body are still unknown.</span></p>

<p>On March 6, at 3 pm, seven police officers visited Prachatai office in Bangkok, showing a search warrant and an arrest warrant for Chiranuch Premchaiporn, Prachatai Director.<span> </span>She is charged with the offense according to Article 15 of the Computer Crime Act.<span> </span>She has refused to answer any questions, and is waiting for her lawyer.</p>

<p><span>Chuwat Rerksirisuk, Prachatai editor, says he has yet to see details of the charge against Prachatai Director Chiranuch Premchaiporn, but only knows that comments posted by readers and left displayed on the web-board led to the arrest.<span>&nbsp; </span></span></p>

<p>The Nation - Crime Suppression police raided news online office of Prachatai on Friday, arresting web director for allegedly violating computer law by allowing the lese majeste comments posted on the webboards.&nbsp; Director Jeeranuch Premchaiyaporn&#39;s computer was also confiscated during the raid.</p>

<p><span>Social activist and former Senator Jon Ungpakorn says that the Prachatai website was created when Thaksin was Prime Minister, because the Thaksin administration, though elected, consistently interfered in and kept control of the media.<span>&nbsp; </span>Prachatai reported on the insurgency in the southern border provinces to let the public know that the violence came not only from the insurgents, but also from the state under the Thaksin government.<span>&nbsp; </span>Although currently the media have relatively more freedom than after the coup in 2006, the arbitrary interpretation of the l&egrave;se majest&eacute; law has brought back an atmosphere of restricted freedom.<span>&nbsp; </span>The law has been broadly applied to the extent that just a call to abolish or revamp the law is itself deemed l&egrave;se majest&eacute;.</span></p>