Police lean on foreign correspondents club over planned press conference

By The Nation

 

File photo: Nutta Mahattana

 

Police have summoned representatives of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand (FCCT) after an activist was accused of planning an allegedly illegal assembly at the club that demanded the election be held by November.
 

The summons by police from Lumpini Station was revealed on Monday on the Facebook page of Nutta Mahattana, one of the 39 activists accused of planning the assembly.

 

Nutta is scheduled to hold a press conference under the hashtag #MBK39 on Tuesday at the FCCT. She is expected to update the case of the 39 activists, who are known as “the MBK39” and charged with sedition and of violating the junta’s ban on political assembly relating to a gathering on January 27 that demanded an election be held in 2018. 

 

About 100 people gathered to join or observe the gathering held on the Skywalk in front of the MBK shopping mall.

 

The attempt by police to pressure the venue to bar an attempt to communicate to media should be regarded as a threat to press freedom, Nutta wrote on her Facebook on Monday.

 

“If police think the conference is a national security threat, why don’t the police contact me directly – because I’m the coordinator,” she wrote. 

 

It is believed that the summons was in response to Nutta’s post on Facebook inviting people to attend the press conference. 

 

The 39 activists last week asked for a postponement of their appearance to acknowledge the charges at Pathum Wan Police Station on Thursday.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/politics/30338009

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-02-05

15 minutes ago, webfact said:

police think the conference is a national security threat

and police are qualified to assess that ?

once we have a change in government, we will still be saddled with the police, who seem to do whatever they want, a true scourge

See no evil,speak no evil,hear no evil. evil  = free speech ,democracy,freedom.

 

regards worgeordie

21 minutes ago, YetAnother said:

32 minutes ago, webfact said:

police think the conference is a national security threat

and police are qualified to assess that ?

once we have a change in government, we will still be saddled with the police, who seem to do whatever they want, a true scourge

Yet another misquote.  By misquoting you altered what was actually said.  Intentionally, or not.

The thing I don't follow - and this is a genuine lack of understanding on my part - is how the application of law is determined by police.  For example, in this case that was on the Prachatai news website last week, it indicates that four activists mocked Prawit in public and that the police made them pay 2,500 Baht each (previously the article indicated 25,000 Baht each).  So what I don't follow is, since the case didn't proceed to court, how is the fine determined and on what legal basis?  Is it already established that for doing what they did, the fine is 2,500 Baht?

 

Police arrest 4 activists for mocking Prawit in public

"Bangkok police have arrested four activists who performed a mime mocking the deputy junta head in public. The four have been fined for violating the public assembly law.

 

On 2 February 2018, the authorities arrested four activists from a pro-democracy group called the Young People for Social-Democracy Movement (YPD) at the skywalk near Victory Monument, Bangkok. The arrest occurred after the four performed a mime about the corruption allegations against Deputy Prime Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwan.

 

The four activists are Thatchapong Kaedam, Tiwat Dumkaew, Panjasak Boon-ngam and Lak (pseudonym). The police accused them of violating the 2015 Public Assembly Act for failing to give prior notice to the authorities before holding the activity. Each of them paid a fine of 2,500 baht and the police set them free."

So much for the freedom of the press oft touted by the junta to foreign governments.

is how the application of law is determined by police.

 

Thailand is a "rule-by-law" country.

 

You may be a foreigner - accustomed to the "rule-of-law", and who just doesn't understand Thailand?

Thai police are judge; jury and executioner.  They decide arbitrarily what laws are being broken; they decide the fine on what they think they can extort.  There's no need for courts in Thailand whilst the Thai police rule the roost.

17 hours ago, sicky said:

how is the fine determined and on what legal basis? 

I would guess (the only practical approach to predicting Thailand law enforcement) that the fine was determined by "administrative prerogative" to resolve a conflict.

18 hours ago, YetAnother said:

and police are qualified to assess that ?

once we have a change in government, we will still be saddled with the police, who seem to do whatever they want, a true scourge

On the political side of things, the current police chief Pol Gen Chakthip will do the bidding of the people who appointed him. The Police Board chaired by Prayut and Prawit appointed him in spite of him being the less senior of the other 5 candidates. Chaktip has very close relationship with Prawit. With the change of government, he will go and we may see a different attitude from a different police chief politically. As for corruption, nothing will change. 

Have to use the FCC facilities in Phnom Phen instead.

Edited February 6, 20188 yr by Colabamumbai

Junta being so called clean. LOL They charge Ex Prime minister Yingluck who was corrupt. UK would give Thailand absolutely no permission to extradite her as this Prayut clearly shows signs as being a Putin (Russia) Thai character.Pot (Prayut)calling the kettle(Yingluck) black. Junta doing same. Election?  Pigs do fly if this occurs ! Aside from that how is a political competitor supposed to amass supporters if they get arrested for supposed crowd gathering? The pigs wings and Red Bull wings  are getting bigger and so is corruption! Will Thailand one day become a clean democracy. My response is simply "No" and definitely not in my lifetime.

Failed state


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1 hour ago, markaoffy said:

Failed state
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https://www.britannica.com/topic/failed-state