Thai police charge founder of new party over Facebook speech

[webfact]

Thai police charge founder of new party over Facebook speech

 

Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, founder of Thailand's Future Forward Party sits at Technology Crime Suppression Division in Bangkok, Thailand September 17, 2018. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai police on Monday charged the founder and two members of a new political party opposed to military rule with violating a computer crime law, an offence that could result in a five-year jail sentence, a fine of 100,000 baht (2,340 pounds) or both.

 

Just last week, the junta, which seized power in 2014, lifted a ban to allow parties to organise ahead of a general election due by May.

 

Critics say the electoral contest will be set up to ensure the military continues to wield influence overThailand's politics.

 

Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, 39, founder of the Future Forward Party, and two senior party members were charged under the Computer Crimes Act, after reporting to a Bangkok police station, where they were questioned and fingerprinted.

 

They are accused of giving false information in a June 29 speech by Thanathorn that was posted on Facebook.

 

Thanatorn, an auto parts billionaire and newcomer to the political scene, said he and his colleagues rejected the charges.

 

"The use of the Computer Crimes Act is used with the objective to silence us, threaten us, to make politics of fear happen in this country," Thanatorn told reporters.

 

The Future Forward Party launched this year hoping to attract young people and win backing from those seeking an alternative to military rule.

 

Police said they would forward the case to the attorney general within four months.

 

(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um; Additional reporting by Aukkarapon Niyomyat; Writing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-09-17

[AGareth2]

one down

a few more to go

[Thaiwrath]

‘Hire my party for Bt100 to fight for democracy’

 

Democracy ! My ****

[Oziex1]

Predictable, and likely to fuel unrest.

[DNPBC0]

What exactly was the "false information"?

[Artisi]

What a fantastic police force Thailand has, threating people with arrest and jailing for posting stupid video clips, threatening opposition political party members over nothing, while 20 000 plus are wiped out on the roads each year. Well done, Thailand and the world should be proud of you, but guess what, they aren't. 

[Eric Loh]

Telling the truth is dangerous in these dark days. 

[CanuckThai]

...and this is what Thailand has in store, for the next 20 years if they don't wake up soon.  But hey, some people dig playing the part of the slave...

Edited September 17, 2018 by CanuckThai

[inactiveposter]

They’ll forward the charges within four months. Wouldn’t that be right around a special date?

[KneeDeep]

Wow..... 

I'm guessing they didn't like the part about the patronage system.

[jimmynewbie]

3 hours ago, Thaiwrath said:

‘Hire my party for Bt100 to fight for democracy’

 

Democracy ! My ****

Its the law in Thailand for a party to have paying members......

Thais prefer to be paid though

Are you a junta fan?

[InfinityandBeyond]

And it begins...

The one horse race. No surprises.

Not a betting man, but I would put everything I have on a Prayuth landlslide victory. 

Pathetic.

[Oziex1]

38 minutes ago, jimmynewbie said:

Its the law in Thailand for a party to have paying members......

Thais prefer to be paid though

Are you a junta fan?

All political parties require donations to fund their campaigns.

[seahorse]

Quote

"The use of the Computer Crimes Act is used with the objective to silence us, threaten us, to make politics of fear happen in this country," Thanatorn told reporters.

It won't work forever.

[Rhys]

Reject all you want.. they still have you but your left testicle..sadly...

[jimmynewbie]

6 minutes ago, Oziex1 said:

All political parties require donations to fund their campaigns.

Yes that is pretty much what I said. cheers

[Sir Dude]

Yeah, as usual, clamp down on any entity that represents a threat to the status quo and the dinosaurs...painful really.

[zzaa09]

4 hours ago, Oziex1 said:

Predictable, and likely to fuel unrest.

Indeed.

They have never really learned how to play the game terribly well. 

 

One needn't be too observant as to notice that all viable candidates and their respective political identities have been promoting themselves in one fashion or another for quite some time - especially through social media venues. 

 

Adding, that it's quite obvious whom the current ruling class considers a very deep threat, so naturally make up offences and "criminal behaviour" to justify their surface repression. Not realizing it's not going to sit well with the ever-increasing popular movement. 

 

Awaiting the true revolution.

[baboon]

40 minutes ago, Sir Dude said:

Yeah, as usual, clamp down on any entity that represents a threat to the status quo and the dinosaurs...painful really.

The junta have their head between the hammer and the anvil.

Start banning / arresting appealing (to the public) candidates on spurious charges and expose any election as a complete and utter sham or double down and put it off for another year or so, making themselves more unpopular still.

Either is fine by me if they should one day get their self-inflicted comeuppance...

[zzaa09]

1 hour ago, Sir Dude said:

Yeah, as usual, clamp down on any entity that represents a threat to the status quo and the dinosaurs...painful really.

Of course.

Rather predictable. 

 

 

[Artisi]

15 minutes ago, baboon said:

The junta have their head between the hammer and the anvil.

Start banning / arresting appealing (to the public) candidates on spurious charges and expose any election as a complete and utter sham or double down and put it off for another year or so, making themselves more unpopular still.

Either is fine by me if they should one day get their self-inflicted comeuppance...

Think their head is elsewhere - not between the hammer and the anvil...... 

[bannork]

2 hours ago, inactiveposter said:

They’ll forward the charges within four months. Wouldn’t that be right around a special date?

Don't forget there are 3 courts. The final court, the Supreme Court, the one that counts, should deliver its verdict several years from now. A lot could happen in the meantime.

Edited September 17, 2018 by bannork

[dinsdale]

15 hours ago, Artisi said:

What a fantastic police force Thailand has, threating people with arrest and jailing for posting stupid video clips, threatening opposition political party members over nothing, while 20 000 plus are wiped out on the roads each year. Well done, Thailand and the world should be proud of you, but guess what, they aren't. 

Yes, the BIB have a lot to answer for. But here they are just the puppets of the puppeteer. More to come I expect.?

[anon537687643]

And it’s a so called democratic election coming ! I guess the “Myanmar supporting Junta” will allow comments that say “Gov is great , god is great , section 44 is my bible “


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[newcomer71]

This isn't going to end up peacefully...

[BobbyL]

A complete farce.

[BestB]

Junta really had an interesting idea of peace and order.

 

first they pissed off much of Isaan, but that’s ok , they just poor peasants , now they going after the young and educated ones.

 

do they really think this plan will work out well for them in the end?

 

i am also more than certain , a number of elites have had enough as well.

[Burma Bill]

Do I detect similarities with Hun Sen in neighboring Cambodia.

[connda]

Here we go.  "Game On!!!" 

[connda]

12 minutes ago, BestB said:

first they pissed off much of Isaan, but that’s ok , they just poor peasants , now they going after the young and educated ones.

They have also pissed off a whole generation of students over the age of 18 who are unable to assemble or associate freely with the opposite sex in public and who can not break the standing curfew for students without fear of being sanctioned.  Young, educated, but not yet out of school.  That's got to go over big with the 18 to 22 year old undergrad uni crowd who are of voting age.  Let's not even contemplate post-grads and PhD candidates.