The spokesperson of the Thai junta leader has warned that those who participate in public gatherings against the controversial new Computer Crime Act could be prosecuted.

On 18 December 2016, Lt Gen Sansern Keawkamnerd, spokesperson of the Prime Minister’s Office, told the media that those who planned to participate in protests against the Computer Crime Bill could be prosecuted for causing public disturbances, Thai News Agency reported.

Sansern said that the authorities would look for photographs of the protesters and that there are ‘good citizens’ who are willing to help the authorities to identify them.

He scolded those who reject the Computer Crime Bill as violators of the law; some of them are hackers who steal information from the government, he said.

The junta spokesperson also announced that currently the government has no policy to implement the single internet gateway system, saying that this policy could contravene the government’s digital economy development policy.

On the same day, four youth activists gathered at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC) to stage a symbolic protest against the Computer Crime Act after the junta’s National Legislative Assembly (NLA) on Friday approved the third reading with 167-0 votes in favour and five abstentions.

One of the four, Aomthip Kerdplanon, a student from a group called the ‘Free Internet Society of Thailand (FIST)’, said the NLA should reconsider the new law or abolish it.

The activists protest at BACC