A quick note to point out that Chiranuch Premchaiporn, director of the independent Thai news site Prachatai, was arrested Friday and held for several hours for allegedly running afoul of Thailand’s Computer Crime Act and committing lese majeste, or insulting the royal family.
The charges reportedly stem from a 2009 complaint that offensive comments — though they were subsequently removed — had been posted on the site. Chiranuch is now out on bail but faces a 50 year prison sentence.
AP has a story — “Rights groups denounce arrest of Thai webmaster” — and Andrew Marshall has a blog post called “A Dangerous Woman.” And here’s a Bangkok Post op-ed by Professor Thitinan Pongsudhirak in which he touches on her case; the piece is called “Thailand and its hybrid authoritarianism.”
I suggest checking out all three items.
Readers of my recent Chronicle of Higher Education story about Thailand will recall that Chiranuch weighed in on Thai universities.