[governance] URGENT - anybody in Bangkok tomorrow?

Tue May 29 06:49:45 EDT 2012

Dear Colleagues,

this came in just now, late for an urgent court date tomorrow.

It relates to a case of freedom of expression and, in this case, 
specifically to a "crime" related to "transitory liability" of Chiranuch 
Premchaiporn - whether or not the provider of an Internet service is 
legally liable for what users do with this service. As this Urgent 
Appeal states: "Her alleged crime, to underscore the point, was that she 
removed the comments [not written by her or by staff of the Prachathai 
website], which consisted of allusions rather than direct references to 
the royal family, with insufficient rapidity."

The question of "transitory liability"  may not be central to Internet 
governance - but it is not only discussed in Thailand. I dare to share 
this here, as Chiranuch did participate in the *Asia Pacific Regional 
Internet Governance Forum *in Hongkong in June 2010, at that time 
already under investigation.

Norbert
-- 
Norbert Klein

Website: http://www.thinking21.org
Website: http://www.isoc-kh.org
eMail: nhklein at gmx.net

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	THAILAND: Court to read verdict in landmark freedom of 
expression case of Chiranuch Premchaiporn – call for observers
Date: 	Tue, 29 May 2012 09:11:05 +0200
From: 	AHRC Urgent Appeals <listadmin at ahrchk.net>
To: 	nhklein at gmx.net

<http://internal.ahrchk.net/phplist/?p=preferences&uid=db121d2a7df0b540482da7f95bd5ce3a>

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION -- URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Update: AHRC-UAU-017-2012

May 29, 2012

[RE: AHRC-STM-099-2012 
<http://www.humanrights.asia/news/ahrc-news/AHRC-STM-099-2012>: 
THAILAND: Concerns over delayed verdict in criminal case against free 
media advocate]
*---------------------------------------------------
*THAILAND: Court to read verdict in landmark freedom of expression case 
of Chiranuch Premchaiporn – call for observers

ISSUES: Freedom of expression 
<http://www.humanrights.asia/issues/freedom-of-expression>, Human rights 
defenders <http://www.humanrights.asia/issues/human-rights-defenders>
-------------------------------------------

Dear friends,
*
On 30 May 2012, at 10 am in the Criminal Court in Bangkok, the verdict 
in the case of Chiranuch Premchaiporn, charged with ten counts of 
allegedly violating the 2007 Computer Crimes Act in Black Case No. 
1667/2553, will be read. The reading, which had been scheduled for one 
month ago, was unexpectedly postponed. The Asian Human Rights Commission 
(AHRC) urges all concerned persons to attend the court as observers, and 
calls on other interested persons to follow the case closely.

UPDATED INFORMATION:*

<http://www.humanrights.asia/campaigns/chiranuch-prachatai>The formal 
proceedings against Chiranuch Premchaiporn, the 44-year-old webmaster 
Prachatai, an independent online news site, began on 3 March 2009, when 
the Criminal Court issued a warrant for her arrest. On 5 March 2009, a 
warrant to search the Prachatai office was issued and the next day 
police from the Crime Suppression Division raided the office and 
arrested Chiranuch in response to one complaint of her alleged violation 
of the vaguely worded, anti-democratic Computer Crimes Act (CCA), which 
an unelected legislature operating under a military-appointed government 
passed in 2007. The police released Chiranuch later that evening, but 
the next month nine further complaints were brought against her. On 31 
March 2010, the Office of the Attorney General proceeded with the 
prosecution and she was arrested and held at the Criminal Court before 
again being released on bail.

Reading the above account, we might infer that Chiranuch had published 
some highly inflammatory, dangerous or secret material on the Prachatai 
site that warranted the heavy involvement of specialist police and state 
prosecutors and a series of events involving a raid and detention. In 
fact, her crime was to have not done something: to have failed to remove 
10 comments alleged to be injurious to the monarchy from the Prachatai 
webboard quickly enough. Her alleged crime, to underscore the point, was 
that she removed the comments, which consisted of allusions rather than 
direct references to the royal family, with insufficient rapidity.

Examination of the specific provisions of the 2007 Computer Crimes Act 
under which these bizarre allegations were brought does not help us to 
clarify the thinking of those responsible for the prosecution of 
Chiranuch Premchaiporn. Under section 14 of the CCA, anyone can be 
jailed for five years if found to have imported to a computer "false 
computer data in a manner that it is likely to damage the country's 
security or cause a public panic… any computer data related with an  
offence against the Kingdom's security under the Criminal Code". Under 
its section 15, the service provider found to have consented to the use 
of the computer for this purpose is equally liable as the person 
committing the offence, which in the case of Chiranuch is the crime of 
lese majesty, as stipulated in section 112 of the Criminal Code, that, 
"Whoever defames, insults or threatens the King, Queen, the 
Heir-apparent or the Regent, shall be punished (with) imprisonment of 
three to fifteen years." The broad, vague provisions of the CCA, and the 
imprecise way in which it can be linked with equally vague provisions of 
the Criminal Code dealing with national security, post clear and direct 
threats to the rights of citizens in Thailand. The very basis of the 
allegations against Chiranuch Premchaiporn -- that not removing comments 
deemed to defame, insult, or threaten the monarchy, itself an allegation 
that is unclear, is a threat to national security -- threatens to make a 
mockery of the Court and the meaning of justice in Thailand.

The trial hearings occurred in February and September 2011, and February 
2012, and summaries by Freedom Against Censorship-Thailand are available 
on the campaign webpage that the AHRC has set up for Chiranuch. As these 
show, much of the testimony turned on the interpretation of how the 
comments that she removed tardily, in the opinion of the police and 
prosecutor, constitute criminal content in the meaning of the law. 
Whether or not a written comment on a webpage or link to an image or 
video is "likely to damage the country's security or cause a public 
panic" is necessarily fraught with difficulty, even more so as the 
Computer Crimes Act does not specify what might constitute a likelihood 
to damage the country's security or create a public panic, or even 
define "security" or "public panic". What any of these terms mean, it 
seems, comes down to the opinion of the judge in the individual case. No 
standards exist to which we can refer. What is clear, however, are the 
effects of this legislation and the absence of clear standards 
contained. Chiranuch Premchaiporn, a long-standing human rights defender 
and media activist, has been forced to endure three years of harassment 
and fear by the Thai state security and legal apparatus.  In addition, 
during a critical period in Thailand’s modern history, the Prachatai 
webboard, a crucial site of discussion and debate, was forced to shut 
down, for fear that both users and more of its staff members could face 
additional prosecution.

*The hearings in Chiranuch's case ended in February 2012 and the reading 
of the verdict was set for 30 April 2012. However, 20 minutes before the 
proceedings were to begin*, court staff notified Chiranuch and her 
lawyers that the decision would be delayed for an additional month. The 
rather dubious reason given by the court for the delay was that the 
judges had too many documents to read, and was unable to complete 
preparing the verdict in time for the scheduled date. *In a previous 
statement released at the time of the postponement (AHRC-STM-099-2012 
<http://www.humanrights.asia/news/ahrc-news/AHRC-STM-099-2012>), the 
AHRC noted that* both the delay to this case and the explanation for the 
delay were sources of serious concern. Whether caused by the court's 
inefficiency, overwork of the judges, or a more specious strategy to 
subject Chiranuch Premchaiporn to additional harassment and suffering.

On the eve of the re-scheduled reading of the verdict in this case, the 
Asian Human Rights Commission calls on the Criminal Court to ensure that 
no further delays are caused in the reading of this verdict, and that 
the trial be conducted openly, honestly and justly. In particular, given 
the unclarities and lacunae in the Computer Crimes Act, the onus is on 
the judges to act in the service of justice.
The AHRC urges all those persons and organisations concerned with human 
rights and freedom of expression in Thailand to return to the Criminal 
Court on 30 May 2012 for the re-scheduled reading of the decision to 
observe action in either the service of justice, or to witness its 
foreclosure.

(Visit the AHRC webpage on Chiranuch Premchaiporn at: 
http://www.humanrights.asia/campaigns/chiranuch-prachatai.)

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua at ahrc.asia <mailto:ua at ahrc.asia>)

*Visit our new website with more features at www.humanrights.asia 
<http://www.humanrights.asia>.*

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