Thanthawut denied bail

On 21 Mar, the Appeals Court denied bail with 1.3 million baht in cash as guarantee for Thanthawut Thaweewarodomkul, the web designer of Nor Por Chor USA, who was sentenced last week to 13 years in jail.

The court made the decision on the grounds that ‘the defendant was arrested together with evidence that was confiscated, he confessed during the police investigation, and as the crimes carry severe penalties he might flee.’

His lawyers will petition for bail again this week with increased assets as a guarantee. 

In response to the court’s cited reasons, they will also explain to the court that Thanthawut’s computers, which were confiscated during his arrest, were examined by the Central Scientific Crime Detection Division and, according to their report, they ‘did not find the files with offensive content as alleged in the case, and did not find any transfer of files to and from the Nor Por Chor USA website.’ 

Also, Thanthawut confessed to the police only because he was forced to, fearing for the safety of his 10 year-old son who was also taken by the police to the police station.  He was also not allowed to contact family members or lawyers to be present at the investigation.  The police investigators responsible for the case have testified and admitted to the court that they did take his son to the police station, the lawyers said.

Source: 
<p>http://www.prachatai.com/journal/2011/03/33657</p>

Since 2007, Prachatai English has been covering underreported issues in Thailand, especially about democratization and human rights, despite the risk and pressure from the law and the authorities. However, with only 2 full-time reporters and increasing annual operating costs, keeping our work going is a challenge. Your support will ensure we stay a professional media source and be able to expand our team to meet the challenges and deliver timely and in-depth reporting.

• Simple steps to support Prachatai English

1. Bank transfer to account “โครงการหนังสือพิมพ์อินเทอร์เน็ต ประชาไท” or “Prachatai Online Newspaper” 091-0-21689-4, Krungthai Bank

2. Or, Transfer money via Paypal, to e-mail address: [email protected], please leave a comment on the transaction as “For Prachatai English”