New Mandala

Abhinya Sawatvarakorn, nicknamed Kantoop, or “Joss Stick”, a 19-year-old student at Thammasat University, will be charged with lèse-majesté over comments she made on Facebook two years ago. Kantoop was accused of committing lèse-majesté in April 2009 while she was still in high school. She will be one of the youngest ever to be charged under [...]

[Read more →]

On 1 February 2012, 224 noted international scholars, writers, and activists sent an open letter to Yingluck Shinawatra expressing grave concern over the use of Article 112 and the erosion of the basic rights of those who face charges under it.  The letter notes that “Article 112 has become a powerful tool to silence political [...]

[Read more →]

“TU – freedom in every square inch but don’t speak” Source: Matichon Online Thammasat University’s recent decision to ban Nitirat activity on its premises has threatened its reputation as a beacon of free speech and a locus of political activism as well as risked radicalizing the movement. A unanimous decision was reached on January 30 [...]

[Read more →]

Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs normally sees itself as working in the realm of “foreign” matters that require special knowledge, skills, and training. The Ministry has a high number of well-educated officials compared to other ministries as it generally recruits high calibre graduates from Thailand’s top tier universities. The MFA enjoys a professionalism that cannot [...]

[Read more →]

Pavin Chachavalpongpun has launched a “Thailand’s Fearlessness” campaign. Send your own photos to him (and to everyone else) via facebook.

[Read more →]

On November 23, 2011, the criminal court in Bangkok found 61-year-old Mr. Amphon (last name withheld), known by his family as Ah Kong or granddad, guilty of lese majeste, and sentenced him to 20 years. Amphon was accused of sending SMS messages with offensive content about royalty to Abhisit Vejjajiva’s personal secretary. The Asian Human [...]

[Read more →]

Bangkok, 23 November 2011: At the Criminal Court, today, a Chinese descendant Thai, Mr. Amphon, aka “Arkong”, 61 years, who barely reads and writes Thai was convicted to 20 years of imprisonment. His crime: texting four messages to a phone belonging to Abhisit Vejjajiva’s personal secretary. Each sms earns him five years (4 messages x [...]

[Read more →]

Received by email: Joint Appeal co-authored by Asian Forum on Human Rights and Development, Clean Clothes Campaign, Front Line Defenders, International Federation for Human Rights, Lawyers’ Rights Watch – Canada, Protection International, Southeast Asia Press Alliance, and World Organisation against Torture) 15 November 2011 Re: Thailand – Human rights defender and magazine editor Somyot Prueksakasemsuk [...]

[Read more →]

Day Ten – Free speech on trial in Thailand “Prachatai gives voice to democracy.” Nine court days beginning on February 4th were spent hearing from minions of the forces of darkness assembled by the prosecution to testify against Prachatai webmaster Chiranuch Premchaiporn. Remarkably in the 21st century, perhaps even in Thailand, 11 bureaucrats and police [...]

[Read more →]

[Photo by Carlos Sardiña Galache] [UPDATED: reports on 2 September and 6 September below] The lèse majesté trial of Chiranuch Premchaiporn, webmaster of Thailand’s independent online news portal Prachatai resumed at Bangkok’s Criminal Court after a hiatus of nearly seven months. The first five days of trial were held February 7 to 11. However, Chiranuch’s case [...]

[Read more →]

The early signs from the Yingluck government on lese majeste reform are far from promising. In response, 112 scholars have signed this open letter (in English and Thai).  The press release announcing the letter is provided below. August 31, 2011 112 Scholars call for reviews of Article 112 and the 2007 Computer Crimes Act International [...]

[Read more →]