<p>The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) wishes to bring the crisis of freedom of expression in Thailand to the attention of the Human Rights Council. This statement is the third on this topic that the ALRC has submitted to the Council since May 2011. During the seventeenth session of the Council in May 2011, the ALRC highlighted the rise in the legal and unofficial use of section 112 of the Criminal Code and the 2007 Computer Crimes Act (CCA) to constrict freedom of expression and intimidate citizens critical of the monarchy (A/HRC/17/NGO/27).</p>

<p>BANGKOK, Jun 5, 2012 (IPS) - When Thai police raided the headquarters of the popular alternative news portal &lsquo;Prachatai&rsquo; and arrested its executive director, Chiranuch Premchaiporn, back in 2009, the 46-year-old media worker was completely in the dark about her crime.</p>

<p>On 30 May 2012, the Criminal Court read its verdict in the case in Black Case No. 1667/2553, in which Chiranuch Premchaiporn was charged with ten alleged violations of the 2007 Computer Crimes Act (CCA). Chiranuch is the 44-year-old webmaster of Prachatai, an independent online news site, which has served as an important platform for critical news, discussion, and debate for over seven years in Thailand. The charges against her in this case stemmed from her alleged failure to remove comments deemed offensive to the monarchy from the Prachatai webboard quickly enough.</p>

<p><em>Web Manager Convicted for Failing to Remove Lese Majeste Content</em></p> <p>(New York, May 30, 2012) &ndash; The conviction of a prominent website manager on computer crimes charges highlights the Thai government&rsquo;s growing misuse of laws intended to protect the monarchy, Human Rights Watch said today. Imposing a prison sentence adds to the climate of fear and self-censorship in Thailand&rsquo;s media, Human Rights Watch said.</p>

<p>On 30 May, the Criminal Court found Prachatai Director Chiranuch Premchaiporn guilty of allowing readers&rsquo; comments deemed offensive to the monarchy to remain on the Prachatai webboard for too long.</p>

<p>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.</p>

<p>On 30 April 2012, the Criminal Court in Bangkok was scheduled to read its verdict in Black Case No. 1667/2553 on ten alleged violations of the 2007 Computer Crimes Act. The defendant is Chiranuch Premchaiporn, the 44-year-old webmaster of Prachatai, an independent online news site. Suddenly, instead of reading the decision, 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.</p>

<p>As reported widely and so too here at Siam Voices:</p> <p>Earlier today, with the eyes of international media upon it, Thailand&rsquo;s judiciary would delay the delivery of a final verdict in the ongoing case of Prachatai executive director Chiranuch Premchaiporn.</p>

<p>On 30 April, the Criminal Court in Bangkok postponed its verdict in the case of Prachatai Director Chiranuch Premchaiporn to 30 May, citing that the case had a lot of documents. &nbsp;</p>

<p>The draconian and controversial lese majeste law as well as the Computer Crimes Act ensures that freedom of expression regarding anything mildly critical of the monarchy institution could be punishable by heavy jail sentences. Thais who live outside the prison should rethink the nature of their &lsquo;free&rsquo; society, however.</p>

<p>While Prachatai.com director Chiranuch Premchaiporn is fearful at the thought of spending the rest of her life in jail, she is determined not to let it grind her down</p>

<p>On 13 Dec 2011, police raided the homes of two Thai internet users, took them in for interrogation and seized their computers and several other items.&nbsp; They were released at night on the same day.&nbsp; Until now, they have not yet been officially charged.</p>