25 Nov 2011 | Asia and Pacific, Index Index, minipost
A Thai Government minister has warned that Facebook users who ‘like’ or ‘share’ pages which denigrate the monarchy could face prosecution. The warning from information technology minister, Anudith Nakornthap, follows the sentencing of a 61 year old man to 20 years in prison for sending text messages deemed insulting to the country’s queen. Ampon Tangnoppakul was accused of sending four text messages deemed insulting to the monarchy in May 2010. The laws against lèse-majesté (insulting a monarch) in Thailand are the most severe in the world – even repeating the details of an alleged offence is illegal.
7 Nov 2011 | Asia and Pacific, News
Anti-free speech legislation is used as a weapon in the ongoing political war between the Thaksin Shinawatra political machine and the Democrat Party. Voranai Vanijaka reports
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26 Oct 2011 | Asia and Pacific, Middle East and North Africa, News
Rachel Greenspan reports from the Silicon Valley Human Rights Conference, where industry and activists met to discuss free expression online
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8 Aug 2011 | Index Index, minipost
Norawase Yospiyasathien, a university graduate and blogger, was detained on Friday while police investigate allegations of lese majeste — offending the Thai monarchy. According to online newspaper Prachatai police are scrutinising his blog posts. The person who filed the charge was said to be a vice rector for students affairs at Kasetsart University, who reportedly said he was pressed to do so by the University Council in a bid to protect the school’s reputation. The student could be charged under both lese majeste law, which carries a maximum 15-year jail term, and the Computer Crimes Act, which has a punishment of up to five years in jail.
