Thai police monitoring lèse majesté online

14 Aug 09 | Index Index, minipost

The Thai government has created a police taskforce within the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (MICT) to monitor websites and identify those posting content that violates Thailand’s draconian lèse majesté law. Police General Somdej Khaokham, the head of the new Information Technology taskforce said the new taskforce included webmasters. The authorities have for several years been constantly updating equipment in order to track down those who post content regarded as offensive towards the monarchy. Read more here

Thai correspondents face jail after “undermining monarcy”

02 Jul 09 | Index Index, minipost

For the first time in its five-decade history, the whole board of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand (FCCT) has been accused of committing lèse majesté, a crime with a maximum jail sentence of 15 years. The board, includes three British nationals including the BBC’s Bangkok correspondent Jonathan Head, and three American nationals, including two working for Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal. Read more here

Thai blogger sentenced to ten years

03 Apr 09 | News and features

Suwicha Thakhor, a Thai blogger, has been sentenced to ten years imprisonment after pleading guilt to lèse majesté charges. Thakhor is alleged to have posted anti-monarchy comments and pictures on his blog.

Australian writer jailed in Thailand receives royal pardon

23 Feb 09 | News and features

Harry Nicolaides, the Australian author sentenced in January to three years in prison for defaming Thailand’s king in a little-known book published in 2005 flew back to Melbourne on the weekend of 21 January after receiving a royal pardon. The decision followed intensive lobbying by the Australian government.
Read more here