Jonathan Head, the British BBC correspondent in Bangkok has been the subject of three lèse majesté complaints. One of these was about an online BBC story, not written by Head, which did not place the photograph of the king at the top of the page, as considered essential by the authorities in Thailand.
Read about the Foreign Correspondent’s Club of Thailand (FCCT) event that was the subject of one of the accusations: A summary of the FCCT discussion; some video footage is at YouTube (although Head’s introduction appears to be missing).
Head has now moved to be the BBC’s correspondent in Turkey.
Commentary on Jonathan Head’s case:
Reporters Without Borders, 4 December 2009: “King asked to pardon Internet users prosecuted on lese majeste or national security charges”
Reporters Without Borders, 5 June 2008: “Lese majeste accusations used to restrict freedom of expression”
News on Jonathan Head’s case:
Huffington Post, 26 December 2008, “BBC Reporter Jonathan Head Could Face 15 Years in Thai Jail”
Committee to Protect Journalists, 24 December 2008, “BBC reporter charged with insulting the king”
Committee to Protect Journalists, 6 June 2008, “BBC reporter faces legal harassment in Thailand”
Guardian, 2 June 2008, “Thailand: BBC rejects claims reporter insulted country’s king”
Prachatai, 20 April 2008, “Policeman Submit More Evidence for Lese-Majeste Case Against BBC Reporter: ‘This is a Conspiracy’”
Prachatai, 12 April 2008, “BBC Seeks Solution after its Reporter is Charged with Lèse Majesté”
3 Comments
July 1, 2009 at 5:17 pm
[...] กรณ์ศิลป) complained that the police must proceed on the case against Jonathan Head and citing Jakrapob Penkair’s presentation at the FCCT on 29 August 2007 and the sale of [...]
July 21, 2009 at 9:40 pm
[...] Head, the BBC correspondent in Bangkok and FCCT First Vice President, has long been singled out for attention. But now we hear that the entire FCCT board has been accused of insulting the Thai monarchy. [...]
December 5, 2009 at 12:28 pm
[...] to obtain the withdrawal of all charges” against several Internet users: Giles Ji Ungpakorn, Jonathan Head, Nat Sattayapornpisut, the royal health rumor 4, and Praya Pichai, a blogger who was accused in [...]
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