<p>On 22 Jan, Kittichai Charnchoengsilpakul, Da Torpedo&rsquo;s brother, together with some 30 activists, red shirts and monks, presented a petition to the Corrections Department, requesting the agency to provide medical treatment for Daranee.</p>

<p>On 18 Jan, the Mekong Migration Network (MMN) sent a letter to the government and relevant agencies to oppose the recent deportation of Cambodian beggars and call on the Thai Government to immediately put in place effective and appropriate screening processes to prevent the deportation of migrants who have the right to protection.</p>

<p>On 18 Jan, human rights organizations and activists send a letter to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva for concerns over the issue of migrant workers in Thailand, the Burmese in particular, as their permits will expire in January and February, while the nationality verification process has proved to be ineffective and risky for the migrants.</p>

<p>The Defence Minister has ordered all military units to monitor and subdue any subversive actions against the monarchy in cyber space and at political rallies. &nbsp;But months before this order, Provincial Army ROTC Training Centre 33, based in Chiang Mai, had already had high school students vow their loyalty on YouTube, and recently set up a web service for any citizen to report offensive websites.</p>

<p>On 12 January 2010, the Thai News Agency reported that the Prime Minister ordered the establishment of an Advisory Committee on National Security Cases Involving the Monarchy, with the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice as chair. The Committee has the responsibility of advising the police, DSI and ICT Ministry on the careful, appropriate and fair conduct of l&egrave;se majest&eacute; cases</p>

<p>Readers have sent e-mails to <a href="http://smbuyer.consumerthai.org/">Smart Buy magazine</a>, criticizing a column written by a dentist who talks of Da Torpedo&rsquo;s molar abscess as bad karma resulting from speaking ill of the monarchy.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.taksin-voice.com/">A red-shirt magazine</a> issued during the New Year has a feature article about Thaksin and King Taksin, who rescued Siam from the Burmese over 200 hundred years ago. &nbsp;ASTV-Manager finds this a serious affront to the current dynasty.</p>

<p>Daranee Charnchoengsilpakul was visited by her brother and a group of activists on the last day of the year allowed by the prison for visiting inmates.</p>

<p>GENEVA &ndash; Two independent experts of the UN Human Rights Council -the Special Rapporteur on torture, Manfred Nowak, and the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, Jorge A. Bustamante- expressed their grave concern at reports that the forcible return of large numbers of Hmong from Thailand to the Lao People&rsquo;s Democratic Republic is on-going despite numerous international protests.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In a 30 Dec ASTV Manager report, Suriyasai Katasila, Secretary-General of the New Politics Party, said that 2010 would be a turning point for Thailand when Thaksin Shinawatra will collaborate with leftists to overthrow the current regime and establish a new one.</p>

<p>Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told police that their priority was to protect the monarchy, while Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban raised Prachatai as an example of a subversive website to be tackled.</p>

<p>A group of activists who plan to visit Da Torpedo in prison on 30 Dec invite the media and interested persons to join them.&nbsp;</p>