Thailand

An initiative to discuss the issue of the Thai monarchy on public television hit a snag when an episode of the political talk show was abruptly cancelled, prompting a heated debate on the how such issues should be tackled.

In December 2012, environmentalist Prajob Nao-opas received warnings from the police that there might be an attempt on his life. He reported to the police that he was being followed. No one at either provincial or national level proposed any protective measures for Prajob.

An investigation is under way into a shooting attack on four cars belonging to the Thai television station ASTV; the ASTV group is close to the People’s Alliance for Democracy, which groups opponents of the current government.

A Thailand criminal court sentenced Somyot Pruekasemsuk, editor of a political magazine, to eleven years of imprisonment for publishing two articles in 2010 deemed defamatory to the country’s monarchy.

A Bangkok court acquitted a Thai netizen two days ago of charges of insulting the king (lèse-majesté), for which he had been remanded in custody since September 2011.

A Thailand court ruled that the controversial lèse majesté law is not contradictory with human rights protections of the country’s Constitution, including on free expression.

The Thai army chief is interfering in criminal investigations of the 2010 political violence and using the country’s archaic criminal defamation law to intimidate critics.

The case concerns the trial of a man caught selling pirated copies of an allegedly defamatory TV documentary.

Chiranuch Premchaiporn, director of the online news website Prachatai, received a one-year prison sentence and a US$1,000 penalty for violating Section 15 of the Computer Crimes Act, which mandates website hosts to delete illegal content.

In a video, victims and their family members from both sides demand justice and tell Human Rights Watch that the failure to investigate and prosecute those responsible for abuses during the 2010 violence would lead to a cycle of violence and impunity.

Amphon Tangnoppaku died in prison whilst serving a 20-year prison sentence for sending four text messages deemed as insulting against the Queen of Thailand.

Amid divisive ideas and political ideologies that have led to the use of violence, the local media are now having difficulties, as several conflicting political parties have started their own media businesses including newspapers, satellite-broadcast televisions and social media.

ARTICLE 19 has submitted an amicus brief to a Bangkok criminal court arguing that the criminal prosecution of Somyot Pruksakasemsuk under the lèse-majesté law violates his right to freedom of expression.

To end the cycle of impunity, the prime minister and her government should promptly bring charges against those responsible for crimes committed during the 2010 political upheavals, whatever their political affiliation or official position in the military or government, Human Rights Watch said.

The papers are being targeted for publishing articles that accused the deputy prime minister of being drunk during the parliament’s charter amendment debate on 25 February.

The glaring injustices of the cases are being made even worse by the denial of bail for apparently political reasons and long periods of pre-trial detention, says Human Rights Watch.