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Dear Colleagues,<br>
<br>
this came in just now, late for an urgent court date tomorrow -
related to freedom of expression and, in this case, specifically to
a "crime" related to "transitory liability" of Chiranuch
Premchaiporn - whether or not the provider of an Internet service is
legally liable for what users do with this service. As this Urgent
Appeal states: "Her alleged
crime, to underscore the point, was that she removed the
comments, which consisted of allusions [not written by her or by
staff of the Prachathai website] rather than direct
references to the royal family, with insufficient rapidity."<br>
<br>
The question of "transitory liability" is not only in Thailand
discussed, but it may affect many of us in other countries also,
that is why I share this here. Did any of our Regional Bureau
Director deal with this type of legal problem, or, in our case, did
the Asia Regional Bureau follow this case which is in public
discussion among human rights and freedom of expression defenders in
the region since some years, because of its principled legal
implications?<br>
<br>
Chiranuch did participate in the <strong>Asia Pacific Regional
Internet Governance Forum </strong>in Hongkong in June 2010, at
that time already under investigation.<br>
<br>
<br>
Norbert<br>
<br>
-- <br>
<font color="blue">Norbert Klein, President, ISOC Cambodia Chapter</font><br>
<br>
<font color="black">
Website: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.isoc-kh.org">http://www.isoc-kh.org</a><br>
eMail: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:president@isoc-kh.org">president@isoc-kh.org</a></font><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
-------- Original Message --------
<table class="moz-email-headers-table" border="0" cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0">
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<tr>
<th align="RIGHT" nowrap="nowrap" valign="BASELINE">Subject: </th>
<td>THAILAND: Court to read verdict in landmark freedom of
expression case of Chiranuch Premchaiporn – call for
observers</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="RIGHT" nowrap="nowrap" valign="BASELINE">Date: </th>
<td>Tue, 29 May 2012 09:11:05 +0200</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="RIGHT" nowrap="nowrap" valign="BASELINE">From: </th>
<td>AHRC Urgent Appeals <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:listadmin@ahrchk.net"><listadmin@ahrchk.net></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="RIGHT" nowrap="nowrap" valign="BASELINE">To: </th>
<td><a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:nhklein@gmx.net">nhklein@gmx.net</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br>
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<p style="color: rgb(128, 128,
128);"><font size="1"><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://internal.ahrchk.net/phplist/?p=preferences&uid=db121d2a7df0b540482da7f95bd5ce3a"><br>
</a></font></p>
<p>ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION --
URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME</p>
<p>Urgent Appeal Update: AHRC-UAU-017-2012</p>
<p>May 29, 2012</p>
<p>[RE: <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.humanrights.asia/news/ahrc-news/AHRC-STM-099-2012">AHRC-STM-099-2012</a>:
THAILAND: Concerns over delayed verdict in criminal case
against free media advocate]<br>
<strong>---------------------------------------------------<br>
</strong>THAILAND: Court to read verdict in landmark freedom
of expression case of Chiranuch Premchaiporn – call
for observers</p>
<p>ISSUES: <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.humanrights.asia/issues/freedom-of-expression">Freedom
of
expression</a>, <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.humanrights.asia/issues/human-rights-defenders">Human
rights
defenders</a><br>
-------------------------------------------</p>
<p>Dear friends,<br>
<b><br>
On 30 May 2012, at 10 am in the Criminal Court in Bangkok,
the verdict in the case of Chiranuch Premchaiporn, charged
with ten counts of allegedly violating the 2007 Computer
Crimes Act in Black Case No. 1667/2553, will be read. The
reading, which had been scheduled for one month ago, was
unexpectedly postponed. The Asian Human Rights Commission
(AHRC) urges all concerned persons to attend the court as
observers, and calls on other interested persons to follow
the case closely.<br>
<br>
UPDATED INFORMATION:</b><br>
<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.humanrights.asia/campaigns/chiranuch-prachatai"><img
moz-do-not-send="true" alt=""
src="http://www.humanrights.asia/campaigns/chiranuch-prachatai/chiranuch.png"
align="right" height="300" hspace="4" vspace="4" width="150"></a>The
formal proceedings against Chiranuch Premchaiporn,
the 44-year-old webmaster Prachatai, an independent online
news site, began on 3 March 2009, when the Criminal Court
issued a warrant for her arrest. On 5 March 2009, a warrant
to search the Prachatai office was issued and the next day
police from the Crime Suppression Division raided the office
and arrested Chiranuch in response to one complaint of her
alleged violation of the vaguely worded, anti-democratic
Computer Crimes Act (CCA), which an unelected legislature
operating under a military-appointed government passed in
2007. The police released Chiranuch later that evening, but
the next month nine further complaints were brought against
her. On 31 March 2010, the Office of the Attorney General
proceeded with the prosecution and she was arrested and held
at the Criminal Court before again being released on bail.
<br>
<br>
Reading the above account, we might infer that Chiranuch had
published some highly inflammatory, dangerous or secret
material on the Prachatai site that warranted the heavy
involvement of specialist police and state prosecutors and a
series of events involving a raid and detention. In fact,
her crime was to have not done something: to have failed to
remove 10 comments alleged to be injurious to the monarchy
from the Prachatai webboard quickly enough. Her alleged
crime, to underscore the point, was that she removed the
comments, which consisted of allusions rather than direct
references to the royal family, with insufficient rapidity.
<br>
<br>
Examination of the specific provisions of the 2007 Computer
Crimes Act under which these bizarre allegations were
brought does not help us to clarify the thinking of those
responsible for the prosecution of Chiranuch Premchaiporn.
Under section 14 of the CCA, anyone can be jailed for five
years if found to have imported to a computer "false
computer data in a manner that it is likely to damage the
country's security or cause a public panic… any
computer data related with an offence against the
Kingdom's security under the Criminal Code". Under its
section 15, the service provider found to have consented to
the use of the computer for this purpose is equally liable
as the person committing the offence, which in the case of
Chiranuch is the crime of lese majesty, as stipulated in
section 112 of the Criminal Code, that, "Whoever
defames, insults or threatens the King, Queen, the
Heir-apparent or the Regent, shall be punished (with)
imprisonment of three to fifteen years." The broad,
vague provisions of the CCA, and the imprecise way in which
it can be linked with equally vague provisions of the
Criminal Code dealing with national security, post clear and
direct threats to the rights of citizens in Thailand. The
very basis of the allegations against Chiranuch Premchaiporn
-- that not removing comments deemed to defame, insult, or
threaten the monarchy, itself an allegation that is unclear,
is a threat to national security -- threatens to make a
mockery of the Court and the meaning of justice in Thailand.
<br>
<br>
The trial hearings occurred in February and September 2011,
and February 2012, and summaries by Freedom Against
Censorship-Thailand are available on the campaign webpage
that the AHRC has set up for Chiranuch. As these show, much
of the testimony turned on the interpretation of how the
comments that she removed tardily, in the opinion of the
police and prosecutor, constitute criminal content in the
meaning of the law. Whether or not a written comment on a
webpage or link to an image or video is "likely to
damage the country's security or cause a public panic"
is necessarily fraught with difficulty, even more so as the
Computer Crimes Act does not specify what might constitute a
likelihood to damage the country's security or create a
public panic, or even define "security" or
"public panic". What any of these terms mean, it
seems, comes down to the opinion of the judge in the
individual case. No standards exist to which we can refer.
What is clear, however, are the effects of this legislation
and the absence of clear standards contained. Chiranuch
Premchaiporn, a long-standing human rights defender and
media activist, has been forced to endure three years of
harassment and fear by the Thai state security and legal
apparatus. In addition, during a critical period in
Thailand’s modern history, the Prachatai webboard, a
crucial site of discussion and debate, was forced to shut
down, for fear that both users and more of its staff members
could face additional prosecution. <br>
<br>
<b>The hearings in Chiranuch's case ended in February 2012
and the reading of the verdict was set for 30 April 2012.
However, 20 minutes before the proceedings were to
begin</b>, court staff notified Chiranuch and her lawyers
that the decision would be delayed for an additional month.
The rather dubious reason given by the court for the delay
was that the judges had too many documents to read, and was
unable to complete preparing the verdict in time for the
scheduled date. <b>In a previous statement released at the
time of the postponement (<a moz-do-not-send="true"
class="external-link"
href="http://www.humanrights.asia/news/ahrc-news/AHRC-STM-099-2012">AHRC-STM-099-2012</a>),
the
AHRC noted that</b> both the delay to this case and the
explanation for the delay were sources of serious concern.
Whether caused by the court's inefficiency, overwork of the
judges, or a more specious strategy to subject Chiranuch
Premchaiporn to additional harassment and suffering. <br>
<br>
On the eve of the re-scheduled reading of the verdict in
this case, the Asian Human Rights Commission calls on the
Criminal Court to ensure that no further delays are caused
in the reading of this verdict, and that the trial be
conducted openly, honestly and justly. In particular, given
the unclarities and lacunae in the Computer Crimes Act, the
onus is on the judges to act in the service of justice. <br>
The AHRC urges all those persons and organisations concerned
with human rights and freedom of expression in Thailand to
return to the Criminal Court on 30 May 2012 for the
re-scheduled reading of the decision to observe action in
either the service of justice, or to witness its
foreclosure.<br>
<br>
(Visit the AHRC webpage on Chiranuch Premchaiporn at: <a
moz-do-not-send="true" class="external-link"
href="http://www.humanrights.asia/campaigns/chiranuch-prachatai">http://www.humanrights.asia/campaigns/chiranuch-prachatai</a>.)</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>Thank you.<br>
<br>
Urgent Appeals Programme<br>
Asian Human Rights Commission (<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:ua@ahrc.asia">ua@ahrc.asia</a>) <br>
<br>
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