Thailand: Labour activist charged and detained on lese majeste charges
Event- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Feb 12, 2011
- Event Description
12 February 2011 The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) issued a warrant for the arrest of Mr. Somyot Pruksakasemsuk. However, Mr. Pruksakasemsuk himself was not aware that such a warrant had been issued against him. 25 April 2011 The Democracy Network, which was set up to launch campaigns and activities to petition for the cancellation of Section 112 of the Criminal Code and in which Mr. Pruksakasemsuk is involved, made a public call to abolish section 112 of the Criminal Code. Mr. Pruksakasemsuk and other members of the Democracy Network had expressed their stands of submitting the 10,000 signatures needed to table the repeal of section 112 of the Criminal Code in parliament. The call was made from the office of Red Power magazine at the red shirt headquarters, Imperial Lad Phrao, in Bangkok. 30 April 2011 Mr. Pruksakasemsuk was arrested by the immigration police at the Aranyaprathet Immigration checkpoint in Sa Kaew province at the Thai-Cambodian border. That night, Mr. Pruksakasemsuk was held in custody at the Crime Suppression Division in Bangkok. Mr. Tharit Phengdit, the DSI's Director General, declined to give any detail of the case claiming the sensitivity of the offence 2 May 2011 Mr. Pruksakasemsuk's request for bail was denied. According to his attorney, Mr. Suwit Thongnuan, the charge against his client normally requires a bail in a range of 300,000 Thai baht. Mr. Pruksakasemsuk has proposed the properties worth 1.6 million baht, but the DSI's Director General opposed the temporary release and Mr. Pruksakasemsuk remained detained in the Bangkok Remand Prison. On Sunday 24 July 2011, his 84-day maximum detention allowed by article 87 of the Procedural Criminal Code for investigation ended. 25 July 2011 The Criminal Court in Bangkok officially charged Mr. Pruksakasemsuk with violating Section 112 of the Criminal Code of Thailand based upon the two articles in Red Power as editor-in-charge of the magazine. If convicted, he faces a maximum 15-year jail sentence for each charge. Mr. Pruksakasemsuk is currently being held in the Bangkok Remand Prison. 12 September 2011 A pre-trial hearing was held at Rachadaphisek Criminal Court in Bangkok. Mr Pruksakasemsuk was denied bail again.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to liberty and security
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Event Location
Latitude: 13.72342
Longitude: 100.47623
- Event Location
- Summary for Publications
On 30 April 2011, Thai labour activist, Mr. Somyot Pruksakasemsuk was arrested. According to a complaint filed with the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), Mr. Pruksakasemsuk violated Section 112 of the Criminal Code by publishing two articles written by a certain Jit Polachan in Red Power in February and March 2010. The articles allegedly mention a fictitious character construed by the Centre for Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES) as being a defamatory reference to the monarchy. However, Mr. Pruksakasemsuk himself alleges that his arrest is related to his involvement in a signature campaign, which aims to collect 10,000 signatures to table the repeal of the Section 112 of the Criminal Code in Parliament. This signature campaign was conducted in a peaceful manner and in accordance with the procedure prescribed by the 2007 Constitution. Since 30 April 2011, Mr. Somyot has been detained and his requests for bail have been denied.