Amnesty slams govt move warning public to shun wanted lese majeste suspects
The move by Thai authorities on Wednesday urging the public to shun on social media three lese majeste suspects exposed their fear of criticism, and is in violation of international human rights, Amnesty International said on Thursday.
“The move doesn’t reveal strength, but a weakness and fear of criticism. In its determination to silence all dissent, the Thai authorities are resorting to extreme measures that brazenly flout international human rights law,” Amnesty International’s deputy director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, Josef Benedict, said in a statement released on Thursday.
The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society on Wednesday issued an announcement, warning the public against directly or indirectly following, having contact with or spreading the messages of academic Somsak Jeamteerasakul, scholar Pavin Chachavalpongpun and Scottish journalist Andrew MacGregor Marshall through social media.
Benedict said Thai authorities have plunged to fresh depths in restricting people’s freedom of expression as they want to cut people off from each other altogether.
He said the UN Human Rights Committee last month raised concerns about the severe and arbitrary restrictions on freedom of expression, including the Computer Crimes Act.
“Rather than drawing lessons from the criticism, they are pressing ahead with their repressive tactics,” he said.