All police stations ready to take lese-majeste complaints against quotTob Jotequot

Published on March 23, 2013 by TFP   ·   No Comments

BANGKOK, 23 March 2013 – The police commander-in-chief has urged all police stations to accept lese-majeste complaints against TV discussion program "Tob Jote".

Police Commander-in-Chief Pol. Gen. Adul Sangsingkaew has urged all police stations in the country to accept all complaints against the presenter and guest speakers of "Tob Jote", of which the last episode on the subject of the monarchy had been banned, but was later aired, on ThaiPBS channel.

Earlier Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung commented that the TV discussion on the monarchy was, in his words, "a bad thing", and that he had asked the police commander-in-chief to investigate thoroughly and press a lese-majeste charge against anyone in the program, if any wrongdoing is found.

The lese-majeste law, or Article 112 of the Criminal Code, states that anyone who "insults, defames or threatens the King, the Queen, the Heir Apparent, or the Regent, shall be subject to imprisonment of between 3 to 15 years".

Critics have argued that the law allows a broad interpretation, under which many who discuss about the monarchy have been prosecuted; for example, an academic has been charged for writing an academic book in which he analysed the role of the monarchy in the 2007 coup, while another academic has been charged for criticising Princess Chulabhorn's remarks made on TV talk show "Woody Kerd Ma Kui".

(NNT: Prach Panchakunathorn)

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Article source: http://www.thethailandlinks.com/2013/03/23/all-police-stations-ready-to-take-lese-majeste-complaints-against-quottob-jotequot/