Thailand

Dual Hong Kong-Canadian journalist Anthony Kwan was arrested at Bangkok airport and charged under the Thai Arms Control Act for carrying an illegal weapon, which was a bullet-proof vest.

Critics decried the law’s broadly-worded grounds that can be used to deny demonstration permits; as well as its tortuous procedures that could be abused to infringe on people’s civil liberties.

Phuketwan and other media groups reporting on the Rohingya and human trafficking issue should be highly commended, since these have helped the Thai government identify entry points to address the crisis, says SEAPA.

The charges relate to the reproduction on phuketwan.com of a single paragraph from a Reuters special report on Rohingya boat-people published in July 2013. Reuters subsequently won a Pulitzer Prize for the investigation in 2014.

“Thailand’s junta should immediately stop arresting and prosecuting student activists,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “While insisting they aren’t dictators, the Thai generals have used the military courts as a central feature of their crackdown against peaceful criticism and political dissent.”

One year later, the general political atmosphere in Thailand has been one of suppression of persons and groups opposed to the May 2014 coup.

The military coup on 22 May 2014 quelled street protests that had unsettled Bangkok for months. But the military junta has since ruled the nation with an iron fist, suppressing any voice of opposition and restricting free speech and media freedom.

Thailand may have nominally ended martial law on 1 April but the new powers are just as sweeping and intimidating.

On 25 March 2015, Thai military junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha made disturbing comments against journalists unwilling to adhere to the official line, saying, “We’ll probably execute them.”

On 16 March 2015, Bangkok police charged four activists for violating the ban on political activity and holding a public gathering of more than five people.

The case against two student activists relates to their involvement in staging a play about a fictional monarch, the “Wolf Bride”, at Thammasat University, Thailand in October 2013.

“For too long Thai authorities have stood by while activists like Chai Bunthonglek have been murdered in cold blood for standing up for their communities,” said HRW.

A media forum in Bangkok scheduled to launch a report measuring the Thai media landscape was cancelled following an order of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO).

Since the beginning of the year, the military-led government of Thailand has been focusing on increasing their surveillance capabilities, both from a legal and technical standpoint.

CPJ calls on Thailand’s military-appointed legislature to scrap proposed legislation that would allow for mass surveillance of online activities and platforms. The Cyber Security Bill was approved this month by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha’s Cabinet and is pending in the National Legislative Assembly.

The abuse of powers by politicians and the unjustified use of security-related laws in the aftermath of Thailand’s military coup d’etat in May characterises impunity in the country, leading to the general worsening of freedom of expression over the past year.