<p>The Thai military have defended their decision to file legal complaints against human rights advocates in the restive Deep South, saying that they have to defend the honour of the country, while the embattled rights activists refuse to be cowed.</p>

<div> <div>Human Rights Watch has condemned the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) for filing a complaint against three human rights defenders in the Deep South for exposing torture by the military of Muslim Malay minority members. </div></div>

<div> <div>The Thai Military Court has dismissed a sedition charge against a red shirt who posted a rumour about the junta head, ruling that the post merely constitutes defamation, not the instigation of violence.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On Tuesday, 17 May 2016, the Bangkok Military Court gave its ruling in the case of Rinda Parichabutr, a red shirt woman nicknamed “Lin,” 45, who was arrested on 8 July 2015 for spreading a false rumour through social networks that Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, the junta leader and Prime Minister, and his wife had deposited about 10 billion baht in a secret ba </div></div>

<p>In the first apparent acknowledgement it is cooperating with Thai authorities in censoring content, Facebook has blocked its users in Thailand from accessing a page satirizing Thailand’s Royal Family, citing local laws.</p> <p>Facebook users in Thailand on Thursday discovered that they can no longer view a satirical page which occasionally lampoons the monarchy.&nbsp;</p>

<p dir="ltr"><em><strong>Update</strong>: The Criminal Court on Thursday granted 100,000 baht bail to Watana after he was charged by the military with the 2007 Computer Crime Act for criticising Gen Prawit Wongsuwan on facebook. In response to the lawsuit, Watana posted a status on his facebook profile after he was granted bail “why can’t I criticise you.” &nbsp;</em></p>

<p>The Thai Court of Justice plans to press charges against anonymous hackers who took down hundreds of websites of the Thai courts in protest against the conviction of two Burmese migrant workers for the murder of two British backpackers on Ko Tao Island.</p> <p>On Wednesday, 13 January 2016, Suebpong Sripongkul, spokesperson of Thailand’s Court of Justice (CoJ), announced that the Thai authorities will carry out an investigation and press charges against a group of anonymous hackers who on Tuesday night downed at least 297 sites, including Appeal and Criminal Court websites.</p>

<p>The Thai authorities plan to amend the current Computer Crime Act to counter online threats to national security.</p> <p>According to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.blognone.com/node/69840">Blognone</a>, an IT news website, Suwapan Tanyuwattana, Minister of the Prime Minister's Office, told the press last week that the coordinating committee of the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) had agreed to amend the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.prachatai.org/english/node/117">2007 Computer Crime Act</a>.</p>

<p>The leader of an ultra-royalist group has accused a left-leaning red-shirt political activist of defaming the monarchy and of rebellion against the Thai state. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>Maj Gen Rientong Nan-nah, the leader of the ultra-royalist Rubbish Collection Organization (RCO), filed a lèse majesté complaint against Surachai D. (aka. Surachai Sae Dan), an anti-establishment red-shirt figure, at the police’s Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) on Tuesday.</p>

<p>The Thai military government has set its eye on issuing a new law on internet security and amending the notorious 2007 Computer Crime Act (CCA). &nbsp;</p>

<p>Thai police arrested a man accused of defaming the monarchy on Facebook more than a year after the complaint was filed.</p> <p>According to Bangkokbiznews, the Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) police arrested Piya J., in eastern Bangkok. Piya was accused of violating the lèse majesté law or Article 112 of the Criminal Code and Article 14 of the 2007 Computer Crime Act for publishing illegal content on the Internet.</p>

<div> <div>After a woman was arrested and charged with lèse majesté and offences under the Computer Crime Act for a Facebook post defaming the King, suspected to be a ploy to cause the woman trouble, two more people face the same charges.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>The military court on Friday approved the second custody request to detain the three suspects for another 12 days in detention. &nbsp;&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Jaruwan E., 26, Anon, 22, and Chat, 20 were accused of defaming the King on a public Facebook page with the name Jaruwan E. (full name and surname in Thai). </div></div>

<div> <p dir="ltr">Court sentences man posting lese majeste FB comments to five years in jail</p> <p dir="ltr">The Criminal Court on Tuesday morning sentenced <a href="http://freedom.ilaw.or.th/en/case/577#summary">Akaradej</a> (last name withheld due to privacy concerns) to five years in jail for his comments on a friend’s Facebook, but since the defendant pleaded guilty, the jail term was halved to two years and six months. &nbsp;</p> </div>