Published on 19 January 2010
4 December 2009 - King asked to pardon Internet users prosecuted on lese majeste or national security charges
23 November 2009 - Arrested doctor freed on bail, arrest warrant issued for monk
4 November 2009 - Three Internet users arrested for blaming fall in stocks on king’s ailing health
19 March 2010 - Does blocking of independent radio station’s website herald start of Internet censorship by Algeria?
18 March 2010 - Web 2.0 versus Control 2.0
17 March 2010 - Blogger’s death in detention still unexplained one year later
Reiterating its appeal to King Bhumibol Adulyadej to pardon nine bloggers (see the 4 December press release: http://www.rsf.org/King-asked-to-pardon-Internet.html), Reporters Without Borders today published a letter written by one of the jailed bloggers, Suwicha Thakor, from prison.
In the meantime, the request for a pardon submitted by Suwicha has mysteriously disappeared from his official file. Suwicha was given a 10-year sentence on 2 April 2009 on a charge of lese majeste although there was no evidence against him and he never posted anything at all about the king.
Reporters Without Borders is very disturbed to learn that Suwicha has been fired by the company he worked for, Brandt, which apparently seems to have raised virtually no questions about the charges brought against him.
Suwicha’s letter of 5 December:
Suwicha Thakor was condemned to a 10-year jail sentence by a criminal court in the northeast Bangkok district of Ratchada imposed on 3 April 2009 for posting content online that was deemed to have insulted the monarchy. Thakor has been held in Bangkok’s Klong Prem prison since 14 January.
