• Urgent Action

Urgent Action: Lawyer and Activists Detained For Facebook Posts (Thailand: UA 105.17)

May 10, 2017

Detained lawyer Prawet Prapanukul, Danai, Wanchai and three others were arrested by a joint military security force on 29 April and held in an unknown location for five days before Bangkok’s Criminal Court on 3 May remanded the six men to custody. They have been targeted in an ongoing crackdown on individuals sharing or expressing views critical of ruling authorities online. If convicted, they could face between 15 and 50 years’ imprisonment for sharing and commenting on Facebook.

 

Detained lawyer Prawet Prapanukul, Danai, Wanchai and three others were arrested by a joint military security force on 29 April and held in an unknown location for five days before Bangkok’s Criminal Court on 3 May remanded the six men to custody. They have been targeted in an ongoing crackdown on individuals sharing or expressing views critical of ruling authorities online. If convicted, they could face between 15 and 50 years’ imprisonment for sharing and commenting on Facebook.

 

1) TAKE ACTION
Write a letter, send an email, call, fax or tweet:
  • Urging the authorities to immediately and unconditionally release the six men, as they are prisoners of conscience arbitrarily detained solely for the legitimate exercise of their right to freedom of expression, and ensure pending their release, the six men are protected from torture and other ill-treatment, and granted access to their families, lawyers of their choosing and any healthcare they may require;
  • Urging the authorities to amend or repeal the Head of National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) Order No. 3/2015, the Computer Crimes Act, and Articles 112 and 116 of the Penal Code, to ensure that they comply with Thailand’s international human rights obligations;
  • Urging the authorities to stop targeting peaceful dissenters and critics who engage in the legitimate exercise of their rights with prosecution and arbitrary detention.
Contact these two officials by 21 June, 2017:
Commissioner General of the Royal Thai Police
Pol. Gen Chakthip Chaijinda
Royal Thai Police Headquarters
Rama 1 Road, Pathum Wan
Bangkok 10330, Thailand
Fax: +66 2251 4739
Salutation: Dear Commissioner General
 
Ambassador Pisan Manawapat, Royal Embassy of Thailand
1024 Wisconsin Ave. N.W., Washington, DC 20007
Phone: 202 944 3600 I Fax: 1 202 944 3611
Twitter: @ThaiEmbDC
Salutation: Dear Ambassador
 
2) LET US KNOW YOU TOOK ACTION
Click here to let us know if you took action on this case! This is Urgent Action 105.17
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