By Pipob Udomittipong |
<p>Amphon Tangnoppakul, 62 years, died while being imprisoned in Thailand today. </p>
<p>Amphon Tangnoppakul, who has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for lèse majesté, has decided to withdraw his appeal on the case, and will seek a royal pardon, said his lawyer Anon Nampha on 2 April, citing his old age and health problems as the reason.</p>
<p>The lawyer will ask the court to withdraw the appeal on his client’s behalf today.</p>
<p>Mrs. Rosmalin Tangnoppakul, the wife of Mr. Amphon Tangnoppakul, who was <a href="http://ilaw.or.th/node/1229">prosecuted and convicted to 20 years in prison under Article 112</a>, wrote a letter to Professor Worachet Pakeerut after he was <a href="http://prachatai.com/english/node/3088">assaulted</a> in late February 2012. The attack on Professor Worachet came after the <a href="http://www.enlightened-jurists.org/">Khana Nitirat</a> (“Law for the People”) proposed the <a href="http://www.enlightened-jurists.com/blog/56">amendment of Article 112</a>. Prachatai received permission from Mrs. Rosmalin to publish the letter. </p>
<p>The Appeals Court has rejected Amphon Tangnoppakul’s bail request, saying that it ‘does not believe that the defendant will not flee.’ The public prosecutor has been granted yet another month to appeal Joe Gordon’s case.</p>
By Elizabeth Fitzgerald |
<p>On 14 December 2011, Sittisak Wanachakit, Justice Court spokesperson, made an extensive comment, published on <a href="http://www.bangkokbiznews.com/home/detail/politics/analysis/20111214/424435/news.html">กรุงเทพธุรกิจ</a>, on the case of Ah Kong, the 61-year-old man recently sentenced to twenty years in prison under Article 112 of the Thai Criminal Code (the lesè majesté law: “<em>Whoever defames, insults or threatens the King, Queen, the Heir-apparent or the Regent, shall be punished with imprisonment of three to fifteen years</em>”) and the 2007 Computer Crimes</p>
<p>On 10 Dec, about 100 activists gathered at the Victory Monument to join a ‘Fearlessness Walk’ to protest against the lèse majesté law.</p>
<p>Article 19, the international human rights organization on freedom of expression, has recently published a statement calling for the reversal of Thailand’s latest lèse majesté conviction, 61-year-old grandfather Amphon, or the “Ah Kong” case. Amphon was sentenced 20 years for allegedly sending four vulgar SMS to the personal secretary of Abhisit Vejjajiva, then Prime Minister.</p>
By Pravit Rojanaphruk |
<p>Singapore-based political scientist Pavin Chachavalpongpun, launched an on-line campaign on Wednesday to free Thailand's latest lese majeste law prisoner 61-year-old Amphon Tangnoppakul, aka Akong, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison last week for allegedly sending four SMS messages defamatory to the Queen and the monarchy to personal secretary of then Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. The campaign is catching on and Pravit Rojanaphruk asked Pavin through the internet as to why he is doing it and what's his expectation.</p>
By Human Rights Watch |
<p><em>20-Year Prison Sentence for Four Text Messages</em></p>
<p>(New York, December 3, 2011) – A Thai court’s sentencing of a 61-year-old man to 20 years in prison for sending four text messages illustrates the misuse by successive Thai governments of laws intended to protect the monarchy, Human Rights Watch said today. Thailand’s lese majeste laws should be amended to prevent unnecessary restrictions on freedom of expression.</p>
By Santiprachatham Network |
<p>In the latest conviction under Article 112 and the 2007 Computer Crimes Act, Mr. Amphon (last name withheld) or Ah Kong, age 61, has been convicted of the crime of lèse majesté and sentenced to 20 years in prison for allegedly sending 4 SMS messages. This case has not only generated widespread criticism about the evidence and reasoning used during the trial, it is also the latest incident that reflects the serious problems of Thailand’s judiciary system. These problems are as follows: </p>
By Duanwad Phimwana, translated by Preedee Hongsaton |
<p>He was born normal,<br />
neither physically nor emotionally disabled. <br />
He can love and be loved,<br />
He can hate and be hated,<br />
as an ordinary man.</p>
By Amnesty International |
<p>A 20-year prison sentence for sending four text messages deemed offensive to the Queen of Thailand is a blow to freedom of expression, Amnesty International said today [23 Nov].</p>