International organisations demand Somyot’s immediate release

The statement was issued on the eve of the five-year anniversary of Somyot’s “deprivation of liberty”.

Somyot, a former editor of Voice of Thaksin magazine, is being detained in Bangkok Remand Prison after e has been sentenced to ten years in jail for violating Article 112 of the Criminal Code. The Appeals Court upheld the ruling on September 19, 2014 and Somyot is appealing against the ruling with the Supreme Court.

The 16 organisations include Amnesty International, ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights, Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), Human Rights Watch, International Commission of Jurists, Reporters Sans Frontières / Reporters Without Borders, and World Organization Against Torture (OMCT).

The statement said several UN human rights monitoring bodies have voiced concern over Somyot’s imprisonment. 

The statement referred to an opinion issued on  August 30 2012 by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), which affirmed that Somyot’s detention was arbitrary. The WGAD called on Thai authorities to release Somyot and award him compensation.

“Somyot’s conviction and his detention do not comply with Thailand’s international legal obligations. Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Thailand is a state party, provides that everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right includes reedom to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas of all kinds,” the statement said.

The statement said the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) voiced its disappointment over the Court of Appeal’s ruling that upheld Somyot's conviction. 

OHCHR also called for the immediate release of all those who had been jailed for the exercise of their right to freedom of expression, the statement added.

“We also condemn the flaws and delays in the judicial proceedings against Somyot and the courts’ repeated refusals to grant him bail. Somyot has unsuccessfully petitioned for bail 16 times - the last time in November 2014,” the statement said.

“We urge the Thai government to end the persecution of Somyot and immediately set him free to return to his wife and family. In addition, we call on the Thai government to provide Somyot adequate compensation and effective remedy for the arbitrary deprivation of his liberty.”