January 13, 2010
BANGKOK 10 (AFP) - Thailand must halt a "backward slide" on freedom of expression after a sharp rise in cases of people accused of insulting the revered monarchy, a leading rights group said Wednesday.
Amnesty International said it welcomed a panel established by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva in December to scrutinise the enforcement of Thailand's tough lese majeste laws, which carry a jail term of up to 15 years.
But the London-based group said the government should suspend the use of the law until it has scrapped provisions allowing any citizen to report another for alleged violations, and urged Thai authorities to stop censoring websites.
"Amnesty International supports the prime minister’s new initiative, and encourages the Royal Thai government to amend the lese majeste law so that it complies with international law and standards," an Amnesty statement said.
The group highlighted two cases since April 2009 in which Thai nationals received heavy jail sentences for allegedly defaming the royals and said that hundreds of other cases of alleged lese majeste remained active.
It said many people charged under the law had also been charged under the computer crimes act, leading to a big increase in monitoring of the Internet for any material that allegedly defames the royal family.
Amnesty said it was also concerned that the law had been characterised by the government as a matter of national security, allowing cases to be held behind closed doors.
The group said it "acknowledged the nation’s considerable progress" under 82-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej, especially in human rights, but said this made the "recent roll-back in freedom of expression of even greater concern".
Matters surrounding King Bhumibol, the world's longest reigning monarch, are a sensitive topic in politically turbulent Thailand as the king has been in hospital since September.
Last year rights groups expressed outrage when Thai police charged four people with spreading false rumours about the health of the king after concerns over his condition sent Thailand's stock market plunging.
