Thailand: Student faces prison for speaking out

05 Mar 12 | Asia and Pacific, Index Index, minipost

A 20 year old student faces 15 years in prison for “having opinions” after she posted a message on Facebook in Thailand. Police began investigating Kanthoop under Thailand’s strict lèse majesté laws in 2010 after she posted criticisms of the Thai monarchy on her Facebook wall, and allegedly distorted versions of the post were forwarded to authorities by email. If charged, Kanthoop, a student at Bangkok’s Thammasat University, could be the youngest offender of lese-majeste. The student, who has been spat at, publicly denigrated and threatened by police said: “I am guilty only of freedom of thought.”

Thailand: US blogger jailed for insulting king

08 Dec 11 | Index Index, minipost

A blogger has been jailed for two and a half years after posting excerpts of a biography online deemed offensive to the Thai monarchy. Joe Gordon, a Colorado resident who was born in Thailand, translated excerpts of a locally banned biography of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, and posted them on his US blog. Gordon pleaded guilty to disseminating information that insulted the monarchy. In November, government minister’s warned that Thailand’s notoriously tough lese-majeste law could even affect “liking” a page on Facebook.