TotallyOz Posted January 23, 2013 Posted January 23, 2013 A Thai court on Wednesday sentenced a political activist to 10 years in prison for insulting the country's revered king, a decision that drew criticism from human rights groups and the European Union. The Criminal Court in Bangkok ruled that Somyot Pruksakasemsuk had breached Thailand's strict lese majeste laws when a magazine he edited, Voice of Thaksin, published two satirical articles found to be critical of the monarchy. Somyot, who arrived in court barefoot with shackles around his ankles, plans to appeal, according to his lawyer, Karom Polpornklang. http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/23/world/asia/thailand-activist-prison-sentence/?hpt=wo_bn4 Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted January 23, 2013 Posted January 23, 2013 I am aware that this article appears in the Asian edition of CNN's website and is accessible in Thailand. A similar post has been made on at least one other gay Thailand forum. But I do think it should be stressed that the Message Centre policies are very clear and I assume it was posted for information and not for discussion. Any discussion could tread a very fine line. There will be no posts allowed that disparage or insult the royal family Quote
Guest joseph44 Posted January 24, 2013 Posted January 24, 2013 as far as my information reaches, the chief-editor was working for "The voice of Thaksin", a very pro-Thaksin magazine. That may be the main reason for this punishment. Just another message to Mr. T. to back off!! Quote
Bob Posted January 24, 2013 Posted January 24, 2013 The lese majeste law ought to be repealed. And guess that's all I can say about it (and hope that the powers that be can't read my thoughts). Quote
Guest Jovianmoon Posted January 24, 2013 Posted January 24, 2013 as far as my information reaches, the chief-editor was working for "The voice of Thaksin", a very pro-Thaksin magazine.That may be the main reason for this punishment. Just another message to Mr. T. to back off!! If you tell Mr T to back off he's likely to respond with something like "Hey fool! Don't be tellin' me to back off or I'll bust your lily-white ass!" Oh, sorry. Wrong Mr T. Quote
Rogie Posted January 24, 2013 Posted January 24, 2013 Wrong Mr T. Was that the enormous black guy with a shaved head apart from a strip in the middle? I never watched whatever programme he starred in but saw his pic many times. Or, maybe you're referring to a poster on this message board? Quote
Guest Jovianmoon Posted January 24, 2013 Posted January 24, 2013 Was that the enormous black guy with a shaved head apart from a strip in the middle? Yep, he had a Mohawk. I never watched whatever programme he starred in but saw his pic many times. The A-Team. Or, maybe you're referring to a poster on this message board? No, there is only one Mr T! Quote
Guest Jovianmoon Posted January 24, 2013 Posted January 24, 2013 ...I never watched whatever programme he starred in but saw his pic many times. As a kid I used to watch The A-Team religiously in between listening to A-ha tapes and playing OutRun on my Commodore 64. Oh, the eighties! Curiously, the only thing that gave me away as a future gay man were the A-ha tapes... Quote
bkkguy Posted January 24, 2013 Posted January 24, 2013 Any discussion could tread a very fine line. if the discussion is about the law itself or about the court ruling it would not seem to breach board rules or Thai law and while CNN claims "It is not possible to report details of the content of the articles in question since they have been deemed to violate Thai law." the Nation had no hesitation about reporting on one aspect of the case: The four judges ruled that although the two articles never directly mentioned the name of HM the King or Rama I, their context suggested the fictitious name of "Luang Naruebarn" was in fact a reference to HM the King. http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Activist-jailed-for-Lese-Majeste-30198550.html in similar case last week Red Shirt activist "Jeng" got two years - the Bangkok Post and the Nation were both noticeably quite on this one but according to the New York Times: But by making a gesture of being muzzled — placing his hands over his mouth — Mr. Yossawarit had insinuated that he was talking about the king, the court ruled. “Even though the defendant did not identify His Majesty the king directly,” the court ruled, Mr. Yossawarit’s speech “cannot be interpreted any other way.” http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/18/world/asia/in-thailand-a-broader-definition-of-insulting-royalty.html?_r=2& bkkguy Quote
bkkguy Posted January 24, 2013 Posted January 24, 2013 The lese majeste law ought to be repealed. And guess that's all I can say about it (and hope that the powers that be can't read my thoughts). as the above cases show - it is not what you don't say, but how you don't say it! bkkguy Quote
Guest timmberty Posted January 24, 2013 Posted January 24, 2013 as the above cases show - it is not what you don't say, but how you don't say it! bkkguy this reminds me of the time i had a chat with a traffic cop. i asked him what he would do if i called him an arsehole?, he said he would arrest me. so i said ok then what about if i thought you were an arsehole ? he said if you just thought it i couldnt do anything. so i said to him ok then ... i think youre an arsehole!! Quote
