Slashdot Mirror
Thai Gov't Sets Up Site For Snitching On Royals' Critics
An anonymous reader writes "In a move that would make the old eastern German Stasi green with envy, the Thai government has modernized a system that allows citizens to snitch on fellow citizens. 'Internet users are being urged to show their loyalty to the king by contributing to a new website called protecttheking.net, which has been set up by a parliamentary committee. On the site's front page it is described as a means for Thai people to show their loyalty to the king by protecting him from what it calls misunderstandings about him. It calls on all citizens to inform on anyone suspected of insulting or criticising the monarchy.'
An large unknown population of political prisoners are currently being held for 3 to 15 years in Thai prisons for being interpreted as insulting the monarchy."
Those people really are nothing but ants.
That, and their king has a fugly wife and a really dumb-looking hat.
Anyone else actually try and go to the website? I did and I got nothing.
God spoke to me.
He was sentenced to either 3 or 6 years in prison (the article you linked to gave both numbers). He spent about six months in prison. Still way bad enough.
As a quick correction to your post, he was actually jailed for six months. He had been sentenced to six years, but that was reduced to three years because of his guilty plea. He was pardoned about a month after his guilty plea, having spent a total of six months in prison.
Of course, it's still absolutely ridiculous!
(Source)
This isn't coming from the Palace, it is coming from the military. It's the Thai version going after the opposition for not being sufficiently patriotic. I've read that the King actually doesn't approve of harassing people for lese majeste.
http://www.thekoratpost.com/Protectthekingwebsiteenglishdetails.html
It contains, in part, this: How To Report Tips
Tips â" This link provides a couple of methods on how to report tips in. One method is to mail to P.O. Box 999, Bangkok . Another indicated is to email directly to protecttheking@parliament.go.th As well, there is an in-page form in Thai for users to complete.
Law & Punishment
This page has five separate links under this title, numbered as shown for convenience. The unnumbered links are:
1. Article 2 - Use of Criminal Law
This section is a verbatim lift from Thai Criminal Code Chapter 2, Articles no. 4-7.
Article 6 - Principals and Supporters [of cr= iminal acts, i.e., lÃse majesté]
This section is a verbatim lift from Thai Criminal Code Chapter 6, Articles no. 83-89.
3. Article 7 â" Concurrence of Offenses
This section is a verbati= m lift from Thai Criminal Code Chapter 7, Concurrence of Offenses, Articles no. 90-91.
4. Article 9 â" Statute of Limitations
This section is a verbati= m lift from Thai Criminal Code Chapter 9, Prescription (statute of limitations.), Articles no. 95-101.
5. Part 2 â" Offenses Related to National Security; Article 2, Offenses Against the king, queen, heir to the throne or regent. [Translatorâ(TM)s note: This section is a verbatim lift from the = Thai Criminal Code Book II, Specific Offenses, Title 1, Offenses Relating to The Security of the Kingdom, Articles no. 107-112.
I clicked the link for the snitching website - but it didn't work right away - so to be sure - I just clicked the link again - over and over and over and over - but it still didn't work ...
---- "Logoff! That cookie shit makes me nervous!" - A. Soprano
King Bhumibol Adulyadej is actually against the lÃse majesté law. So you're probably asking yourself why is this a problem? It's a problem for two reasons. One is the Thai people for the most part love their King, and insulting him is like insulting the country. Highly conservative groups feel like this is treason and should be treated as such. The other reason the lÃse majesté law is still in effect is that the current Thai government relies on the good name of the king. In their eyes if the King is no longer respected than the government that is supported by the king is no longer respected either. Yea it doesn't make much sense to normal people, but these are politicians we are talking about. I'd also like to point out that the Thai Monarchy is a shining example of how a Monarchy should behave. The Thai's have good reason to love their king.
This king has (to my knowledge) always pardoned people who were convicted of this crime and he has also tried to get rid of this law.
This is the sig that says NI (again)
You do realise you are subject to other countries laws right? And other countries can pass whatever laws they choose.
It is quite possible the law Thailand has against insulting their monarch applies to people in other countries. Thailand could then apply to extradite you to their country to face trial. In this case extradition would be unlikely but if you are stupid enough to rock up in their country of you own accord there is nothing the US State department can do apart from provide you a lawyer.
A good example is Spain. According to Spanish law if you kill a Spanish citizen then that is a crime under their law even if you committed the offence in a country where murder was legal. This also applies to torture. Their are currently investigating whether to prosecute certain members of the US military who were involved in Guantanamo Bay. If successful this would make it awkward for the people involved to travel to anywhere in Europe since they may then be extradited to Spain to face trial.
I dont read
Only two countries in the World refuse to sign up to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and declare their right to execute children as part of their legal processes:
1. Somalia
2. United States of America
Careful who you are calling barbaric, some people might also call executing kids a pretty primitive practice.