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Joe Gordon gets two years and a half
On 8 Dec, the Criminal Court sentenced Joe Gordon, a Thai-born American citizen, to 5 years in jail for lèse majesté, but reduced the jail term by half as he had pleaded guilty. Joe Gordon or Lerpong...
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Human rights defenders Jittra Kotchadej, Boonrod Paiwong, and Soonthorn...
Front Line Human rights defenders Ms Jittra Kotchadej, Ms Boonrod Paiwong, and Mr Soonthorn Boonyord are due to appear in a pre-trial hearing on 23 December 2011 to decide on the dates of their trial....
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American netizen jailed in latest abuse of Thai lèse-majesté laws
Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders is shocked by the two-and-a-half-year sentence imposed on American blogger Joe Gordon by a Bangkok court today for insulting the Thai royal family...
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China: Intransigence on Rights Cases Requires New Approach
Human Rights Watch Nobel Laureate Remains Jailed Despite Global Condemnation (New York, December 9, 2011) – The Chinese government’s increasing intransigence on high-profile human rights cases...
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THAILAND: "Ingrained culture of impunity" denies rights, AHRC says
Asian Human Human Rights Commission (Hong Kong, December 9, 2011) A "deep-seated, ingrained culture of impunity that spans the state security forces, judiciary and civil service" is continuing to...
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US citizen Gordon jailed for lese majeste
Pravit Rojanaphruk, The Nation Dual Thai-US citizen Joe Gordon was sentenced to two and a half years in prison yesterday under the lese-majeste law and the Computer Crimes Act for translating parts of...
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Garbage In, …
Harrison George And you got worried when the Minster of Information and Communication Technology said that hitting ‘like’ or ‘share’ on a potential lèse majesté posting on Facebook would land you in...
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Thai laws on insulting royals having chilling effect on freedom of expression...
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights 9 December 2011 – The United Nations human rights office called on Thai authorities to reform laws that jail people convicted of insulting senior...
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A question of law
Pravit Rojanaphruk, The Nation The attorney who's represented Amphon Tangnoppakul and Joe Gordon on lese majeste charges says he's standing by his principles Red-shirt attorney Arnon Nampa, who...
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‘Fearlessness Walk’ against Article 112
On 10 Dec, about 100 activists gathered at the Victory Monument to join a ‘Fearlessness Walk’ to protest against the lèse majesté law. Wanrak Suwanwattana, one of the activists, said that the idea of...
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Chalerm set to crack down on websites
Deputy Prime Minister Pol Capt Chalerm Yubamrung is set to begin his crackdown on websites offensive to the monarchy, and has sought a budget of 400 million baht to buy new equipment to block foreign...
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Lese majeste lives on because we're all 'family'
Pravit Rojanaphruk, The Nation One of the reasons why so many people are passionate about the lese-majeste law is that they regard His Majesty the King as the "father" of all Thais. When this is taken...
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Ah Kong, Lesè Majesté, and Article 17 of the ICCPR
Elizabeth Fitzgerald On 14 December 2011, Sittisak Wanachakit, Justice Court spokesperson, made an extensive comment, published on กรุงเทพธุรกิจ, on the case of Ah Kong, the 61-year-old man recently...
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Da Torpedo gets a new sentence of 15 years in jail
On 15 Dec, the Criminal Court sentenced Daranee Charnchoengsilpakul to 15 years in prison, after the Constitutional Court had ruled that its secret trial of the case was not unconstitutional. Daranee...
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Rights activists back new prison
Pravit Rojanaphruk, The Nation Truth panel seeks separate custody centre for political detainees Human rights and political activists welcomed the government's decision to set up a separate jail to...
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Splendid Isolation
Harrison George In the days before the channel tunnel and Ryanair, most travel in and out of the United Kingdom was by ferry. So fogs in the English Channel seriously disrupted communications between...
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Civil Society Organisations Propose Revamp of Thai Electoral System
BANGKOK, 18 December 2011 – The Open Forum for Democracy Foundation (PollWatch), The People Network for Elections in Thailand (P-Net), and the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) called for a...
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Second hearing of Somyot’s case in Phetchabun
On 19 Dec, Somyot Prueksakasemsuk, editor of Voice of Taksin magazine and red-shirt leader, was brought to the provincial court in Phetchabun in lower northern Thailand for the hearing of the second...
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Burma: Ensure Aid Access in Kachin State
Human Rights Watch Tens of Thousands Still Isolated From Assistance, Abuses Continue (New York, December 21, 2011) – The Burmese government should make a long-term commitment with humanitarian...
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ASIA: Torture prevention and rehabilitation in Asia
Danilo Andres-Reyes, Asian Human Rights Commission Obstacles in the implementation of norms & standards of rights in developing countries2 Reading from the abstracts of papers from other...
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