By Asian Human Rights Commission |
<p>The Asian Human Rights Commission wishes to express grave concern over the latest conviction and sentence of a person in Thailand for a crime of freedom of expression. On 23 November 2011, in Black Case No. 311/2554, Ampon Tangnoppakul (also known as 'Arkong'), a 61-year-old man, was sentenced to twenty years in prison for four alleged violations of Article 112 of the Thai Criminal Code and the 2007 Computer Crimes Act. Ampon’s crime was to allegedly send four SMS messages to Somkiat Klongwattanasak, personal secretary of the former prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva.</p>
By Chutimas Suksai |
<p>At the Criminal Court on 23 Nov, a guilty verdict was passed on 61-year-old Ampon (last name withheld) who was sentenced to twenty years in prison for allegedly insulting and threatening the Queen of Thailand. The Court sentenced him to 5 years on each of 4 counts under the lèse majesté law. </p>
By Tyrell Haberkorn |
<p>On 23 November 2011, <a href="http://prachatai.com/journal/2011/11/37991">Ampon Tangnoppakul</a> was sentenced to 20 years, the longest known sentence to date under the Computer Crimes Act of 2007. His alleged crime? Allegedly sending four SMS messages with allegedly anti-monarchy content to the personal secretary of the former prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva. As Prachatai has reported, the sentence was delivered via videolink as flooding made it unfeasible for Ampon to be brought to the Criminal Court to hear the sentence.</p>
By Pipob Udomittipong |
<p>Bangkok, 23 November 2011: At the Criminal Court, a Chinese descendant Thai, Mr. Amphon, aka “Arkong”, 61 years, was convicted to 20 years of imprisonment. His crime: texting four messages to a phone belonging to Abhisit Vejjajiva’s personal secretary.</p>
<p>On 23 Nov, the Criminal Court found <a href="http://www.prachatai.com/english/search/node/Amphon Tangnoppakul">Amphon Tangnoppakul</a> guilty for lèse majesté and computer crimes and sentenced him to 20 years in prison.</p>
<p>On 30 Sept, during the last hearing of his case in the Criminal Court, <a href="http://www.prachatai.com/english/search/node/Amphon%20Tangnoppakul">Amphon Tangnoppakul</a> insisted that he had never sent messages offensive to the monarchy to former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s personal secretary through his mobile phone as alleged.</p>
<p>On 23 Sept, Amphon Tangnoppakul, 61, was brought to the Criminal Court for the first hearing of his case. He is charged with having sent messages offensive to the monarchy to former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s personal secretary through his mobile phone in May last year.</p>
<p>On 21 Mar, the Criminal Court denied bail for Amphon Tangnoppakul, who was charged with sending lèse majesté messages through SMS to key government figures last year.</p>
<p>Amphon Tangnoppakul has been denied bail yet again by the Appeals Court after he was indicted and sent to Bangkok Remand Prison last week.</p>
<p>Amphon Tangnoppakul, 61, has been detained without bail after being indicted by the public prosecutor for lèse majesté. </p>