A US
citizen who says he risks prison in Thailand has sued an Internet company for
allegedly handing over his personal data, in a legal test touching on the
kingdom's tough ban on royal insults.
Anthony Chai, a Thai-born naturalized American who runs a
computer store in California, said in a lawsuit that Canadian web service
provider Netfirms.com Inc. broke US law by sharing his personal information
with Thai authorities.
On a now defunct website, Chai posted anonymous comments
critical of Thailand's "lese majeste" law in which criticism of the
royal family carries up to 15 years in prison. Critics say the law is
frequently abused.
Even though he did not identify himself on the site, Chai
said that agents pulled him aside for interrogation at Bangkok's airport and
that he fears imprisonment if he returns.
In comments to AFP, Chai said he hoped to draw attention to
the "despicable" law on lese majeste and to test Thai authorities'
contention that their rules apply around the world and not only inside the
kingdom.
"So many innocent Thai people are now rotting in Thai
jails across the country in Thailand because of their belief in freedom of
expression," Chai said.
Such expression "does not contain any violence or promotion
of violence. The whole country is held hostage by this law," he said.
Netfirms.com Inc. did not respond to telephone messages
seeking comment. The company's website says that it provides web hosting and
domain names to more than 1.2 million websites around the world.
The lawsuit said that Netfirms.com confirmed in
correspondence that it suspended the website Manusaya, on which users at Chai's
shop posted anonymous comments, in 2005 after complaints from Thai authorities.
Chai said he was interrogated in Bangkok in May 2006.
Chai said he suffered "severe psychological and physical
stress" during two days of questioning, in which authorities seized his
laptop, forced him to surrender his passwords and told them they knew where his
family members lived.
Chai said he was forced to write a letter praising and
apologizing to King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest-reigning monarch
who is revered as a demi-god by many Thais.
In the lawsuit, Chai said that he wanted to appear
cooperative and agreed to meet twice later in the Los Angeles area with Police
Colonel Yanaphon Youngyuen, the director of Thailand's bureau of high tech
crimes -- once at an airport McDonald's restaurant and then at Hollywood's
Magic Castle Hotel.
Chai said the colonel gave a yellow shirt and other tokens of
the monarchy as gifts and alleged that he voiced disappointment when Chai did
not offer expensive gifts such as iPods to bring back to Thailand.
The lawsuit said that Netfirms.com Inc. violated Chai's
rights under the US Constitution's First Amendment which guarantees the right
to free speech. The suit also said that the company violated California's
business code which bans the sharing of confidential information.
Allison Lefrak, litigation director at the World Organization
for Human Rights USA who is representing Chai, hoped that the case would have a
"broader effect."
"For us, it's an important case to underscore the need
for all Internet communication companies to think about these human rights
issues," she said.
Chai is seeking an injunction on the company's release of
private information as well as at least $75,000 in compensation. Among his
losses, Chai said he felt obliged to sell stock shares in Bangkok as he is
afraid to return.
More than 100 international academics recently called on
Thailand to review the lese majeste rules, saying that the number of cases has
risen sharply in recent years amid political polarization in the kingdom.
In March, the webmaster of a site linked to the then
opposition was jailed for 13 years after it allegedly published comments
insulting the monarchy. A US citizen was also arrested in Thailand in May over
Internet postings.
Source : AFP
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