A UN expert on Monday urged Thailand to amend its
controversial lese majeste laws, saying a recent increase in legal cases
highlights the urgent need for reforms.
"I urge Thailand to hold broad-based public
consultations to amend section 112 of the penal code and the 2007 Computer
Crimes Act so that they are in conformity with the country's international
human rights obligations," said Frank La Rue, special rapporteur on
freedom of expression.
"The recent spike in lese majeste cases pursued by the
police and the courts shows the urgency to amend them," he added in a
statement.
La Rue said such laws "encourage self-censorship and
stifle important debates on matters of public interest, thus putting in
jeopardy the right to freedom of opinion and expression."
"This is exacerbated by the fact that the charges can be
brought by private individuals and trials are often closed to the public,"
he said, adding that the laws are also "vague and overly broad."
Under Thai legislation, anybody convicted of insulting the
king, queen, heir or regent faces up to 15 years in prison on each count.
Academics have noted a sharp increase of new royal insult
cases in recent years and rights groups have expressed concern that the law was
used to suppress freedom of expression under the previous government.
Earlier Monday, a US citizen Joe Wichai Commart Gordon
pleaded guilty in a Thai court on Monday to charges of insulting the monarchy.
He was arrested in May during a holiday in the kingdom and
accused of posting a link to a translation of a banned book -- an unauthorised
biography of King Bhumibol Adulyadej -- on his blog, along with other material
deemed offensive, while living in the US.
Source : AFP
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