Ms. Chiranuch Premchaiporn (or Premchaiyaporn in some reports) has been arrested and the offices of Prachatai were raided by the Crime Suppression police on 6 March 2009, on accusations of allowing webboard comments with lèse majesté content. Read more here, 6 March 2009, “จ้าหน้าที่ตำรวจ 2 คันรถ บุกประชาไทพร้อมหมายค้น และหมายจับ จีรนุช เปรมชัยพร ผู้ดูแลเว็บ,” and 6 March 2009, “Police Raid Prachatai News Online Office” and on New Mandala, 6 March 2009, “Crackdown on Prachatai”, and on the ฟ้าเดียกัน webboard.
During the police raid on Friday, officers of the Crime Suppression Bureau accused Prachatai web manager Chiranuch of violating the computer law by posting comments threatening to national security and she was arrested. Police apparently used the Computer Crimes Law in this case to avoid international media attention regarding lèse majesté. However, later reports state that the police accused her of violating Article 15 of the Computer Act as well as disseminating lese majeste content on the website from 15 October to 3 November 2008.
Bail had been granted. Prachatai reports that Chantana Banpasirichote, a political science lecturer from Chulalongkorn University, was her guarantor. Chiranuch was finger printed and a criminal record was filed. Police also copied data from her hard disk. About 50 people, including students, Prachatai readers, Chiranuch’s relatives, social activists and academics gave her support at the police station.
FACT (15 April 2009: “Nine new charges against Prachatai webmaster”) reports on new charges laid against Chiranuch under the Computer Crimes Act. According to the report, on “April 7, Chiranuch was called to Royal Thai Police headquarters for further investigation. She was accompanied by Prachatai director Chuwat Rerksirisuk and her two lawyers. Thai police laid nine new charges against Chiranuch resulting from the information she herself gave them after her arrest.” FACT continues: “Additional charges under the cybercrime law mean that Chiranuch is facing 50 years in prison for comments she did not create.”
The Crime Suppression Division did submit the charges against Chiranuch to the Office of Attorney-General. She has been on bail while the OAG has been processing the case. Chiranuch was scheduled to hear whether she will be prosecuted on 26 June 2009. She showed up and it was further delayed. The case has now been delayed by the prosecutor several times.
While the news on the case might be limited, the threat of the case hanging on is sufficient to cause distress for the persons involved.
Media commentary on Chiranuch’s case:
Prachatai, 2 June 2009, “Update on Suwicha and Chiranuch cases”
Thai Netizen Network, 26 May 2009, “On the Cases Related to Computer-Related Crime Act” and in ไทย, เครือข่ายพลเมืองเน็ต, 26 พ.ค. 2553, “เรื่อง การดำเนินคดี พ.ร.บ. คอมพิวเตอร์ฯ ต่อพลเมืองเน็ต”
The Nation, 13 March 2009: “Computer crime law arrests creating a climate of fear”
IPS, 8 March 2009: “Police Target Websites Unflattering to Royalty”
Awzar Thi, Rule of Lords, 7 March 2009: “Free Jiew! Support Prachatai!”
Asia Sentinel, 7 March 2009: “Thailand’s Royalists Strike Again”
Bangkok Post, 7 March 2009: “Prachatai’s webmaster held by CSD: Lese majeste prompts police raid on offices”
Global Voices Online, 7 March 2009: “Thailand: Web director arrested for allowing offensive comments”
Statement from the Asian Human Rights Commission, 6 March 2009: “THAILAND: AHRC strongly condemns police raid on news outlet”
BBC News, 6 March 2009: “Police arrest Thai website editor”
Reports from Prachatai, 6 March 2009: “Prachatai founder Jon Ungpakorn: police charges vague” and “Prachatai Director gets bail” and others at the home page.
12 Comments
March 19, 2009 at 11:22 am
[...] the Prachatai case and the arrest of Chiranuch Premchaiporn, Abhisit says that there has been some kind of “misunderstanding” and that [...]
March 20, 2009 at 11:27 am
[...] the Prachatai case and the arrest of Chiranuch Premchaiporn, Abhisit says that there has been some kind of “misunderstanding” and that this will “be [...]
April 10, 2009 at 7:55 pm
[...] “Different worlds need different rules”) has a new article on cyber security citing Chiranuch Premchaiporn, recently arrested webmaster at [...]
April 14, 2009 at 8:17 pm
[...] military takeover of 2006 – A Coup for the Rich – that led Giles Ji Ungpakorn to flee to England. Chiranuch Premchaiporn, the editor of the online newspaper Prachatai, was arrested in early March and her offices searched [...]
April 15, 2009 at 10:38 am
[...] against Prachatai webmaster”) reports on new charges laid against Prachatai web master Chiranuch Premchaiporn under Thailand’s Computer Crimes Act. Her initial charges were that Prachatai allowed [...]
April 25, 2009 at 7:19 am
[...] military takeover of 2006 – A Coup for the Rich – that led Giles Ji Ungpakorn to flee to England. Chiranuch Premchaiporn, the editor of the online newspaper Prachatai, was arrested in early March and her offices searched [...]
September 6, 2009 at 4:04 pm
[...] sadly lacking on this, that he said this but did exactly nothing. He lied about the cases against Chiranuch Premchaiporn and Chotisak Onsoong, which despite Abhisit’s assurances, remain [...]
September 7, 2009 at 11:45 am
[...] cases of Suwicha Thakor and Chiranuch Premchaiporn are also [...]
October 21, 2009 at 4:11 pm
[...] already blogged on the arrest of Chiranuch of Prachatai for comments made on the webboard deemed to be lese majeste (see here and here), but [...]
October 22, 2009 at 8:56 am
[...] as he must have a lot on his plate, but since the initial arrest of Chiranuch of Prachtai, she has faced 9 additional charges. At some point, he needs to turn his words into action or at least set up some [...]
November 3, 2009 at 1:37 am
[...] Chiranuch Premchaiporn, “the webmaster of Prachataiwebboard.com, said ‘bbb’ [Thiranan] was the regular poster since the Sep 19 Coup and most of her posts were the translation of English news on Thai politics.” Chiranuch added that “the police had never contacted her to ask for any information about the case and she did not delete the post.” [...]
November 22, 2009 at 9:49 pm
[...] and Somjet Itthiworakul (arrested earlier in November), Prachatai’s webmaster Chiranuch Premchaiporn, charged back in March, and Suwicha Thakor, arrested in January, convicted in April and sentenced [...]
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