Constitutional court and silencing dissent

At our About Us page , PPT has long stated that we are:

dedicated to those who are held in Thailand’s prisons, charged with political crimes. It also seeks to raise the cases of those who are accused of political crimes. Our focus is the contemporary period where political cases revolve around the use of Thailand’s lese majeste law and, increasingly, the Computer Crimes Act.

We are now considering if we need to add contempt of court to that list. At The Nation it is reported that:

The Constitution Court has lodged another complaint against red-shirt leaders and Pheu Thai MPs for contempt of court and threatening the court judges, a source said yesterday.

Among those named in the complaint are Yoswarit Chooklom (aka Jeng Dokjik) and MPs Kokaew Pikultong and Prasit Chaisisa, said the source, who asked not to be named.

In essence, not only is the corrupt and politicized Constitutional Court accruing powers to itself that it doesn’t have – see our posts on the recent nonsense royal plot case – but is now attempting to make it a crime to speak against anything the court does or against any judge or judgement. This means the Constitutional Court is in the business of making protesters political prisoners.

This is confirmed by the secretary-general of the Constitution Court office, Chavana Traimas, who:

ordered officers on Friday to file complaints against people who insulted the judges, including those who burnt mock coffins of judges in front of the court…. The acts were aimed at insulting the court and intimidating the judges, the source said, adding that the penalties would be harsher than for simple acts of defamation against “ordinary” people…. Each of the court judges can also lodge separate complaints against the accused, along with the Constitution Court office’s complaint….

This action by the Constitutional Court is a clear threat to those who disagree with its politicized and corrupt decision-making. If it succeeds in establishing yet another dubious precedent, the court will be placing itself in a position analogous with the monarchy and its protection by Article 112. Supporters of the court, such as ultra-royalists, will be able to urge complaints against opponents for their statements about the court.