Man who 'liked'doctored photo, graphic in jail
A MAN who "liked" a doctored photo of His Majesty the King on Facebook is being held incommunicado at a military base, the ruling junta said Saturday, as rights groups warned he risked becoming another victim of "enforced disappearance".
Thanakorn Siripaiboon, 27, was arrested earlier this week and charged with sedition, lese majeste and computer crimes for clicking “like” on a photo of the King and sharing it, plus an infographic on a corruption scandal, with around 600 friends.
“He is under military custody,” Colonel Burin Thongprapai, junta legal officer, said yesterday, adding that he would be remanded at a military court Monday.
“He is well and in good condition,” he added.
Under Thai law anyone convicted of insulting the King, the Queen, heir to the throne or regent can face between three to 15 years in jail.
In the last two months, at least two people – including a celebrity fortune-teller – have died in custody after being charged with lese majeste following secrecy-shrouded investigations.
Rights groups say the use of secret military detention – long employed in Thailand’s insurgency-hit south – has “become a new standard nationwide,” under the military, Human Rights Watch’s Sunai Phasuk said.
“There is nothing at all to guarantee the safety of those held incommunicado in military detention ... without access to their families and lawyers, and interrogated by soldiers without safeguards against mistreatment,” he said.
Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, who are providing legal help to Thanakorn and his family, said in a statement that they had “no idea” where Thanakorn was being held and assumed he “has become a victim of enforced disappearance”.
AFP
