Petition for crackdown on insults to monarch submitted
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The Lawyers Council of Thailand on Wednesday submitted a petition demanding that the government crack down harder on ill-intentioned groups behind insulting remarks against the monarch posted online as well as doctored photos.
LCT Chairman Sak Korsaengruang said the petition was submitted to Deputy PM Chalerm Yoobamrung, who has been appointed chairman of a committee tasked to crack down on websites deemed offensive to the monarchy.
The petition said that the royal insults in cyberspace were spreading because police and the Information and Communications Technology Ministry have failed to deal with the offenders, which could be considered as negligence under the Constitution.
The LCT then requested the police chief and the ICT minister to jointly form a special force to monitor, examine and investigate the offences against the monarch.
The suspects arrested on such charges should be divided into two categories: those who intended to topple the monarch and those who acted impetuously.
The first group should be prosecuted according to the laws while the second should be informed of the facts so that they would have a better understanding of their misdeeds.
The LCT will also forward the petition to the ministers of ICT and Justice as well as the Royal Thai Police.
