New Mandala

11 responses so far ↓

• 1 Portman // Apr 28, 2009 at 4:47 pm

  Unfortunately Thais are expected to know better and can’t expect such a quick pardon as foreigners convicted of LM. But you are right in saying that maintaining foreign interest in the case will improve his chances of a pardon.

• 2 Nicholas Farrelly // Apr 28, 2009 at 5:05 pm

  Portman,

  You may be right. Nonetheless I only see Thais of a certain relatively vulnerable type doing any time for lese majeste. Those apparently best positioned to defend their charges, cause a fuss behind the scenes, or tie into foreign networks (people like Sulak, Sondhi, Thanapol, Surachai, etc) seem to have done OK (so far) at staying out of prison. Perhaps that will change and we will see some of these people locked up for lese majeste (I certainly hope not!).

  But in the recent spate of charges I can’t think of anyone who isn’t utterly ordinary who has done time in prison.

  The message gets sent but the stink of incarcerating, say, Ajarn Sulak or Khun Thanapol is avoided. Who knows how long this current thrust in the lese majeste campaign will last? In the meantime I reckon the prevailing efforts to take out easy targets are worth further reflection.

  When few people know Suwicha’s name it is far easier for him to be forgotten.

  Best wishes to all,

  Nich

• 3 Portman // Apr 28, 2009 at 5:37 pm

  Nich

  Agreed. The tone of the cases seems to be set at the time bail is requested. No connections > no bail > no foot dragging by prosecutors > intense pressure to plead guilty > no lawyer willing to risk a vigorous defence > no acquittal. Although precedents are not very important in Thailand’s civil law system, there are old precedents of acquittals based on lack of intent in LM cases going back even to the early days of the law under absolute monarchy. Althought the trials are largely held in camera, lack of intent doesn’t seem to have been a viable defence in recent years. This defence might not have helped Suwicha but, if available, could help or have helped others in this predicament.

• 4 tom hoy // Apr 29, 2009 at 6:04 am

  There was another woman – not the famous Da Torpedo – who also got locked up but only for six years. For something she said at Sanam Luang. I forget her name. And I guess that’s the way it goes. I hope somebody can remember it. My recollection from what I read in the newspapers and the blogs at the time is that she was a fairly ordinary woman with an ordinary job who got inspired or carried away and made a fatal move to say some thing when people were saying some things. She’s paying for that now.

  I hope somebody can remember her.

• 5 Nicholas Farrelly // Apr 29, 2009 at 7:37 am

  Tom Hoy,

  I expect the prisoner you remember is Boonyuen Prasertying (บุญยืน ประเสริฐยิ่ง) who received a 6 year term in late 2008. Some information on her case is available here, here and here.

  Best wishes to all,

  Nich

• 6 Somsak Jeamteerasakul // Apr 29, 2009 at 2:08 pm

  tom boy and Nick mentioning of Boonyuen’s case reminds me of something sad, though not unexpected.

  Let me add a bit of info first. I was told from reliable source that Khun Boonyuen was persuaded (either by her lawers, her family or some authorities I’m not sure) to confess and get the conviction, so that she could ask for royal pardon. This way, she had been told, she could be out of prison within a relatively short time, whereas if she fought the charge, the case could drag on for years and yeas during which time the chance of her being free on bail would be nil. So she confessed and got that six year term on 6 November 2008. It has been nearly six months now after that conviction.

  Harry Nicolaides, a farang, got convicted on 19 January 2009. He received a royal pardon and was released on 21 February 2009, i.e., just a month after the sentencing.

  Don’t get me wrong, I’m more than happy for Harry. In fact I don’t think any one should be put in jail for a single day for the LM charge. But it should be obvious what this difference in treatment means.

  P.S. I was also told that, Khun Boonyuen had apparently been persuaded that, in order to increase her chance of freedom, she should stay away from the political circles she used to belong. So she actually cut off all contact with former friends and political activists (She was a ‘regular’ of the Sanam Luang protest rally, as was ‘Da Torpido’.)

  Clearly, that doesn’t help her much, so far.

• 7 Nicholas Farrelly // Apr 29, 2009 at 2:37 pm

  Thanks Ajarn Somsak,

  I had gleaned a similar impression from some of the Prachatai, etc, coverage and discussion of Boonyuen’s case. Thanks for confirming these elements.

  Perhaps some of the Bangkok-based journalists reading the comments on this thread will be in a position to find out more about how both Khun Boonyuen and Khun Suwicha are now faring.

  When Harry Nicolaides was arrested Andrew Walker used a mixed metaphor to sum up his situation: “a very small fish who’s been caught in the crossfire”. I’m afraid that these two Thais who have been convicted of lese majeste and given these heavy sentences are even smaller fish, with even fewer friends to offer support. It is tragic, and so easily ignored when so much else is going on.

  Best wishes to all,

  Nich

• 8 Somsak Jeamteerasakul // Apr 29, 2009 at 3:26 pm

  Thanks Khun Nich.

  Perhaps I should add that Khun Da is well aware of the ‘option’ her former colleague (Boonyuen) took, but she decide to fight the case anyway. This is really brave. She has also (I was told by someone who’s following her case and visitting her regularly) ‘come to terms’ with the prospect that, not only her case could drag on for years, when the conviction comes, it would, in all probability, not be in her favour. Of couse, the fact that both Khun Boonyuen, an ordinary woman without famous name or influencial friends, and Khun Suwicha who has a young family to take care of, took the ‘option’, is completely understandable. All these cases only show how cruel, degrading and babaric this law and the context in which it is enforced are.

• 9 NP // Apr 29, 2009 at 3:36 pm

  For those who are willing to support Mr. Suwicha Thakor and his family, you can transfer financial support directly to

  Account No.: 408 – 0 – 31301 – 2
  Account Name: Mrs. Amorn Thakor
  Krung Thai Bank

• 10 David Tan // Apr 29, 2009 at 7:21 pm

  I agree, we should not let this thing die down, in fact, we should make it as loud as possible. Suvicha is not alone, his children and his parents have to count on him. By jailing Suvicha, they are slowly killing his whole family. If you look deeply into all these cases, you will find how cruelly these families were punished. I only hope that New Mandala would not stop digging and print us with these kind of articles.

• 11 Amala // Jul 24, 2009 at 11:16 am

  Thanks everyone for all the support for P Nui!

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