<p>Paris-Bangkok, 27 September 2010 - On Friday, September 24, 2010, at approximately 2.30PM, the Thai immigration police arrested Ms. Chiranuch Premchaiporn, executive director of Prachatai, an independent news website, at the Bangkok Airport on charges of defaming the monarchy of Thailand and of violating articles 14 and 15 of the 2007 Computer-related Crimes Act and article 112 of the criminal code. Ms. Premchaiporn was returning from Hungary, where she had attended a conference entitled The Internet at Liberty 2010.</p>

<p>At about 1 am on 25 Sept, Chiranuch Premchaiporn was granted bail after placing 200,000 baht in cash as a guarantee.&nbsp; She denied all charges during police interrogation.</p> <p>She has to report to the police at Khon Kaen Police Station on 24 Oct.</p> <p>Over a dozen readers of Prachatai in Khon Kaen gathered at the police station to give her moral support.</p>

<p>Chiranuch Premchaiporn, an online news editor in Thailand, was arrested on 24 September under the country&rsquo;s 2007 Computer-related Crimes Act. She is being held in Khon Kaen police station in north-eastern Thailand. Chiranuch Premchaiporn is a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for the peaceful exercise of her right to freedom of expression, and should be immediately and unconditionally released.</p>

<p>Chiranuch Premchaipoen, the editor of the news website Prachatai, was arrested today at Bangkok&rsquo;s Suvarnabhumi airport on her return from a conference on Internet freedom in Budapest. Police showed her a warrant issued by a court in the northwestern province of Khon Kaen accusing her of defaming the royal family and of violating articles 14 and 15 of the Computer Crimes Act and article 112 of the criminal code.</p>

<p>According to Matichon, Pol Lt Col Chachpong Pongsuwan, investigator at Khon Kaen Police Station, said that a l&egrave;se majest&eacute; charge had been lodged against Chiranuch Premchaiporn since 2008. The case has been vetted by the Provincial Police Board Region 4, and is now being prosecuted by a department of the National Police Bureau. A summons is not necessary in this case because the offence carries a severe penalty.</p>

<p>The charges against Chiranuch were made by the Superintendent of Khon Kaen Police who alleged that she, as website administrator, and website users violated Sections 14 and 15 of the 2007 Computer Crimes Act and Section 112 of the Criminal Code (l&egrave;se majest&eacute;) for offensive comments made on the website on 27 April 2009.</p> <p><strong><em>(Correction: the charges were made by Sunimit Jirasuk, a local businessman in Khon Kaen, for comments on Prachatai in April 2008 about <a href="http://www.prachatai.com/english/node/620">Chotisak Onsoong</a>.)</em></strong></p>

<p>A couple of months ago, there was a rumour among members of the Prachatai webboard that one member had been arrested. No one could really confirm this, but one member certainly did disappear from the forum. This seemed to be a repeat of a pattern that has happened several times before; many others, including the first two cyber casualties, <a href="http://www.prachatai.com/english/taxonomy/term/305">Praya Pichai and Ton Chan</a>, have completely disappeared from cyberworld ever since, at least under those names. But Pruay Salty Head is different. He has come back, with a story.</p>

<p>(SEAP/IFEX) - 2 August 2010 - It has been three years since the enactment of Thailand's controversial Computer Crime Act, a law that critics and experts say has had a troubling and detrimental impact on free expression in the country.</p>

<p>A businessman arrested in late April for what he wrote on his Facebook has been denied bail, and his detention has been extended five times since his arrest.</p> <p>The man, 37, whose name is withheld at the request of a family member, was arrested by the Department of Special Investigation on 29 April.&nbsp; He was accused of violating the l&egrave;se majest&eacute; law (Section 112 of the Criminal Code) and the 2007 Computer Crimes Act.</p>

<p>A landmark cyber-crime case in Thailand commenced on 31 May&nbsp;2010, with the accused, website administrator Chiranuch&nbsp;Premchaiporn, officially denying the 10 counts of Computer Crime&nbsp;Act violation filed against her.</p> <p>The Criminal Court set the trial's first hearing on 4 February&nbsp;2011, even as the Court approved the prosecution's 14 witnesses and&nbsp;the defense's 13 witnesses in the pre-trial session.</p>

<p>Reporters Without Borders voices its support for Chiranuch Premchaiporn, the editor of the Prachatai news website, whose trial before a criminal court in the Bangkok district of Rachada is due to begin on 31 May. She is facing up to 50 years in prison for failing to act with sufficient speed to remove &ldquo;offensive&rdquo; comments about the monarchy posted by visitors to the site.</p>

<p>The Ministry of Information and Communications Technology has instructed its staff to monitor the posting of pictures which show violence in the clashes on Saturday.&nbsp; People are warned not to post comments divisive to society.</p>