Darunee Charnchoensilpakul

Darunee Charnchoensilpakul was initially sentenced to 18 years in jail on lese majeste charges on 28 August 2009. That trial, conducted in secret in a closed court, saw her received 6 years for each of three comments she made speaking to a political rally. The case made a mockery of Thailand’s judicial processes (see below).

Commonly known as “Da Torpedo,” Darunee, a pro-Thaksin Shinawatra and self-proclaimed pro-democracy campaigner, was arrested on 22 July 2008 after delivering an exceptionally strong 30-minute speech denouncing the 2006 coup and the monarchy. She was also accused of slandering the rabid General Saprang Kalayanamitr, an outspoken leader of the 2006 military coup.

Darunee is from Bangkok and had previously worked at the Phim Thai newspaper and the Thai Sky News cable network.

She was refused bail many times. The courts repeatedly found no grounds to grant bail. The Bangkok Post reported that “The court reasoned that the charges against Ms Daranee carried very heavy penalties, and that her alleged offences could tarnish the monarchy, therefore granting her bail could hurt the feelings of the King’s loyal subjects.”

Her lawyer pointed out that her case does not fall under the legal reasons for denying bail: “According to Article 108 of the Criminal Procedure Act, a suspect should be denied bail if he/she was likely to escape or repeat the offence he/she was accused of, or to meddle with witnesses and evidence, or if the bail guarantor was deemed to be unreliable.”

In February 2009, it was reported that Darunee was ill, thin and discouraged. A report stated that “Her voice was hoarse and her words sounded fuzzy as she could hardly open her mouth to speak due to severe jaw dysfunction.” This is the medical condition that the court considered provided no grounds for granting bail. At the time, she felt alone and abandoned and she endured insults from fellow inmates and prison officials who castigate her for showing disrespect to the monarchy. However, this phase passed, and she remained defiant.

When Darunee’s trial began in June 2009, the judge, citing reasons of national security, closed the trial, meaning it became a secret political trial. This decision caused an emotional response from Darunee who said: “I want justice.” She added, “The speech I am charged with was made at an open rally. I cannot accept that a closed trial will guarantee justice.” Judge Prommat Toosang said Darunee’s trial at Bangkok’s Criminal Court disingenuously claimed: “I guarantee the defendant will get a fair trial,” and then closed the court.

In July 2009, Darunee appeared in court on other charges, “accused of surrounding the office of ASTV and insulting Sondhi Limthongkul when she led a group of red shirts to protest against the yellow shirts’ mouthpiece in 2007.” She was charged with “gathering in a group of ten or more people to instigate public unrest, detaining other people, damaging private property, trespass, and insulting others, in the incident when she led a group of about 50-70 red shirts to protest at the ASTV office on Phra Athit Road on June 1, 2007.”

When the defence lawyer requested that the court summon Sondhi to testify as a witness, Sondhi’s lawyers declined. She was eventually convicted on this charge, but having served a year in jail, the fine she received was set aside.

On 28 August 2009, Darunee was sentenced to 18 years in jail. She received 6 years each for three comments she made.

No-one can claim that this was a fair trial as the decision comes from a politicized court that was closed.

Darunee remained defiant, vowing to fight on.

PPT believes that her refusal to plead guilty is the reason why she has received such a harsh sentence. Usually, it is expected that those on lese majeste charges will plead guilty in the belief that they will receive a lighter sentence in exchange for the case not having to go to court. The Financial Times states: “Few defendants in lèse majesté cases choose to fight the charges as Ms Daranee did: lawyers say the ill-defined laws are almost impossible to beat even in a case that is open to public scrutiny, and most choose to plead guilty and beg the king for mercy on conviction. Thai law stipulates that defendants who choose to admit the charges against them can receive more lenient sentences.” Some 30-40 of her supporters were present for the reading of the verdict.

Following her sentencing, Darunee was the subject of further harassment by prison officials and was placed in solitary confinement for unspecified offenses. The prison has also created a special name tag for her, identifying her as convicted of lese majeste. It seems that 18 years is insufficient punishment for some authorities. These actions by Thai officials violate international law.

On 27 October 2009, Darunee’s lawyer lodged an appeal against her sentence at the Criminal Court. An appeal was also made to the Constitutional Court on the constitutionality of her trial in secret (see below).

On 29 July 2010, Darunee requested temporary release to receive medical treatment. She also argued that Sondhi Limthongkul, a PAD leader accused of the same crime, has always been granted bail until now.” Naturally, Sondhi, being a yellow-shirt, gets different treatment.

Her request was rejected a few days later, citing the fact that her case carried a severe punishment and her crime was against the revered and venerated monarchy, affecting widely the feelings of loyal people.

Matichon photo

Finally, in February 2011,the Appeals Court voided the jail sentence handed down by the Criminal Court in Darunee’s closed trial.

The grounds were that an earlier petition for a Constitution Court ruling on legal procedures (based on Sections 29 and 40 of the constitution) had not been forwarded to the court for due consideration. She asked the Criminal Court to forward her petition to the Constitution Court to rule whether the prosecutors’ request was constitutional. The Criminal Court did not forward her petition to the Constitution Court, and went ahead with the trial and convicted and sentenced her. The Appeals Court annulled the jail sentence.

This outcome meant that the Criminal Court would forward her original petition to the Constitution Court for a ruling on whether the prosecutors’ request for the trial to be held in camera under Section 177 of the Criminal Procedures Code contravenes Sections 29 and 40 of the constitution. If the Constitution Court ruled in her favor, the prosecution could request a fresh trial as the charge would not be dismissed. The decision also meant that Darunee could again request bail.

On 17 February 2011, her lawyer and brother went with 1 million baht in cash to attempt to bail her out. The request was denied, on the basis that earlier courts had denied her request for bail, that she committed a grave crime against the monarchy, and that she was a flight risk.

Her lawyer appealed against this bail denial and that appeal was dismissed on 1 March 2011.

Then, in a remarkable demonstration of the injustice and bias inherent in the Thai courts, the Constitutional Court’s verdict was that her secret trial was constitutional! This verdict was read by the Criminal Court on 17 October 2011 and her verdict reading is scheduled for 15 December 2011.

PPT is unsure how her re-trial took place.

It seems the judges simply met, considered the original evidence from the voided verdict trial and sentenced to 15 years jail on three counts of lese majeste. Some thought this was a reduction in sentence from the original 18 years. The fact is that Darunee has already served more than 3 years.

The presiding judge who read the verdict was Chanathip Muanphawong, who also read the patently ridiculous 20-year verdict on Ampol Tangnopakul.

The judge said the court found that Darunee had “committed the crime of royal defamation under the Criminal Code’s articles 112 and 91 and therefore deserved a five-year sentence for each of the three offences — committed in June 7 and 13 and July 18, 2008 – for a total of 15 years.

After hearing the verdict Darunee reportedly stated “that there was no point in fighting on under such circumstances.” We assume she meant under circumstances where no one charged under lese majeste can get a fair hearing or justice.

However, in early January 2012, Darunee’s lawyer stated that she would appeal. Obviously her sentencing was a huge disappointment, but after reflection, she remained brave and determined.

She appealed and her application for bail while her appeal was heard and, as usual, rejected on the bizarre notion that this brave woman would flee the country.

By mid-May 2012, Darunee was hospitalized for an operation on her molar, a serious health problem known since her very first bail application.