A reliable source has told Prachatai that at least one person being detained in Bangkok Remand Prison for crimes against the new Computer Crime Act which came into effect on July 18, 2007. The detainee is a 36 year-old computer programmer who posted comments on web-boards using a well-known alias.
According to the source, the person was detained for 6 days at the Police Crime Suppression Division office before being transferred to the remand prison on August 30. He has yet to see his family members and consult a lawyer.
Fah Deaw Kan publishing house released a statement calling on the government and relevant agencies, especially the Information and Communications Technology Ministry and the police, to confirm this news and to allow observers to visit Bangkok Remand Prison and other prisons. And if there was an arrest, the government and its agencies must respect the detainee's right to justice, the publisher said.
On September 1-2, the weekend edition of the Financial Times reported that Thailand had lifted its ban on the video-sharing website Youtube, and quoted a high-level official as saying that in the past couple of weeks the authorities have arrested and detained two Thais who posted comments insulting to the monarchy on web-boards.
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