Pai Dao Din’s parents seek apology
THE PARENTS of activist Jatupat Boonpattararaksa, better known as “Pai Dao Din”, are demanding that the Thai ambassador to South Korea issues a formal apology and corrects what they allege are “deviations from the truth” in connection with the accusations against their son.
Wiboon and Prim Boonpattararaksa submitted a letter to the Foreign Affairs Ministry yesterday threatening to take legal action if the ministry fails to comply with their wishes.
Their letter was in response to the letter from Sarun Charoensuwan, the Thai ambassador in Seoul, which was sent on May 2 to the chairman of the May 18 Memorial Foundation. The foundation has awarded this year’s Gwangju Prize for Human Rights to Jatupat, and his parents will receive the award on his behalf in South Korea tomorrow.
The controversial letter, signed by the ambassador, had content that deviated from the truth and could result in misunderstanding, insult and hatred towards their son, the couple said.
They clarified in their letter that their son remained innocent of the accusations made against him as the court had not yet reached a final verdict. They also said Jatupat had not committed actions in violation of his bail conditions, as stated in the ambassador’s letter.
These two points were in addition to the ambassador’s claim in his letter that Thailand was supportive of the freedom of expression and political gatherings, when in reality the government prohibited political assembly, the activist’s parents wrote.
The UN and other international organisations have issued several statements denouncing the government for breaching human rights and international law, they added.
To protect Jatupat’s “dignity and reputation”, they requested a formal apology and correction of information that they claimed deviated from the truth, or they would exercise their legal rights against relevant persons on behalf of their son.
Jatupat remains in prison as his bail requests have been rejected on nine occasions.
He is charged with violating the lese-majeste law and the Computer Crime Act after sharing a BBC Thai article last December.
Nukun Srisophon, director of the Foreign Affairs Ministry’s General Affairs Division, accepted the parents’ letter on behalf of the ministry and said it would be passed on to relevant units.