BBC journalist faces five years jail for Thailand reporting

[metisdead]

Off topic deflection posts and replies have been removed. 

[djjamie]

On 2/23/2017 at 8:30 PM, mark131v said:

Don't worry we will have a few junta huggers along shortly to attempt to justify the unjustifiable....

Why? The Junta didn't make these archaic laws that have been a hurdle in steaming the endemic corruption issues plaguing Thailand. 

[jonclark]

One thing about this case is it has reinforced my image of most Thai lawyers. Parasitic criminals if the case in point is anything to go by. 

[soalbundy]

bad guys out, we don't want his sort in Thailand running around telling the truth, it would embarrass all the good guys at the top of the tree. We can only hope that this will be splashed all over the western press and that for once the British ambassador will pull his lazy finger out and actually do something behind the scenes for a British citizen. 

[Asiantravel]

On ‎23‎/‎02‎/‎2017 at 6:50 PM, Wilsonandson said:

Has that Andrew Drummond fella left Thailand? Really? As Fred Flintstone says "Yabba dabba do!" Great news!

 

not many people share your enthusiasm  judging by the number of likes you have received

 

[Ace of Pop]

Isn't it worth a mention that no one you know personally is slightly offended by Laws because they fit in here rather happily.I have a Dennis Skinner type Chum here who is anti any rules,or anyone not on Handouts, he should have been a Teacher or Reporter these days


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[mark131v]

3 minutes ago, Ace of Pop said:

Isn't it worth a mention that no one you know personally is slightly offended by Laws because they fit in here rather happily.I have a Dennis Skinner type Chum here who is anti any rules,or anyone not on Handouts, he should have been a Teacher or Reporter these days


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I am sure that makes sense to somebody somewhere....

 

[CGW]

10 hours ago, yardrunner said:

most of it was the truth and all of it was the truth as known at the time,

That is utter nonsense! believe what you wish, I believe they were following an "agenda" which again is not reporting the truth in a fair & independent manner. They have lost their credibility as far as I am concerned!

[Ace of Pop]

I am sure that makes sense to somebody somewhere....
 

Anyone Whoes anti Left and not a Tourists pretending to be a Teacher. I do not refer to the Minority's of genuine Teachers here

[muzmurray]

10 minutes ago, Ace of Pop said:

Anyone Whoes anti Left and not a Tourists pretending to be a Teacher. I do not refer to the Minority's of genuine Teachers here

 

At least we, (the students), can be thankful that you are not teaching English here.

 

 

[Ace of Pop]

No I need money to live,so am I thankful also


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[ThaiCitizen]

On 23/02/2017 at 3:50 PM, Reigntax said:

And these imbaciles believe they have created the environment to encourage foreign investment.

76 likes for a racist calling Thai people imbeciles. How very sad.

 

Two words, "go home".

 

Live in you miserable dreary countries on a pittance and leave the Thais alone. let us who love this country get on with being here.

 

I'm sick of the ignorant, racist posting here by miserable pensioners who never even try to integrate with the locals bar saying , "tee rak" and "boom boom you".

[Asiantravel]

6 minutes ago, ThaiCitizen said:

76 likes for a racist calling Thai people imbeciles. How very sad.

 

Two words, "go home".

 

Live in you miserable dreary countries on a pittance and leave the Thais alone. let us who love this country get on with being here.

 

I'm sick of the ignorant, racist posting here by miserable pensioners who never even try to integrate with the locals bar saying , "tee rak" and "boom boom you".

 

you're probably right. Just enjoy life here in Thailand..........................

but just don't sign anything

[wreckingcountry]

A book about all the hypocrisy and corruption in the country,after he leaves and gets another overseas job with the BBC. All the "mushrooms" in LOS, fed on shit and kept in the dark!


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[Reigntax]

1 hour ago, ThaiCitizen said:

76 likes for a racist calling Thai people imbeciles. How very sad.

 

Two words, "go home".

 

Live in you miserable dreary countries on a pittance and leave the Thais alone. let us who love this country get on with being here.

 

I'm sick of the ignorant, racist posting here by miserable pensioners who never even try to integrate with the locals bar saying , "tee rak" and "boom boom you".

 

And if you are representative of the juvenile under developed intelligence that you support and defend, there is little hope of ever seeing much improvement in a country that could be described a number of ways. The brothel of SE Asia, the hub of SE Asia corruption, the land of fakes,  the centre for non thinking and irrational, or the country where citizens abuse their own and pretend its for their own good.

 

As for your latter ignorant comment, i dont live their as i prefer not to live in a garbage dump but i still probably make a greater contribution to the country's economy in the few week i do spend there than you do yearly.

 

You should appreciate every foreigner removing themselves from their quality country of residence for a few weeks each year and contributing enough that people such as yourself can live.

 

Much better that you to rely on us for existence, rather than the opposite, we can continue to point out the deficiencies and you can continue to ignore the bleeding obvious.

Edited February 25, 2017 by Reigntax

[Squeegee]

On 2/24/2017 at 9:22 AM, mikebell said:

Such laws are mediaeval and serve only to cement Thailand's place in the lower echelons of civilised countries.  Why nobody in Government can see this is mystifying; ditto house ownership; police corruption; traffic mayhem.

I think they can see it, they're just too dirty to do anything about it.

[Squeegee]

10 hours ago, ThaiCitizen said:

76 likes for a racist calling Thai people imbeciles. How very sad.

 

Two words, "go home".

 

Live in you miserable dreary countries on a pittance and leave the Thais alone. let us who love this country get on with being here.

 

I'm sick of the ignorant, racist posting here by miserable pensioners who never even try to integrate with the locals bar saying , "tee rak" and "boom boom you".

What do you know about racism, ThaiCitizen?

What exactly is a citizen anyway, according to you? That's rhetorical, I couldn't bear the tedium of your answer.

 

But onto the main course...

 

"They are imbeciles" means, according to you and your fascist, pseudo-liberalism, that farmers, somtam sellers, motorbike taxis and anyone else with Thai citizenship is directly responsible for how Thailand operates. It is your nonsense, bias, deceit, lack of insight or denial of reality that equates governance with race.

 

You're sick of [whatever] are you? Yet you still come here and read it. That in itself narrows down my above list of potential reasons why you think giving a damn about Thailand is racist. You know, the only interesting thing about you is you're a younger version of the usual twerp: your sort doesn't usually slag off pensioners. Anyway, my money's on you're an Alright Jack.

 

[wakeupplease]

On 24/02/2017 at 7:37 AM, jgold said:

Why no diplomats are raising their voice on this injustice???? What are these ambassadors good for???? 

 

Spoke to one the other day and brought up Jonathon and Ian. He did not know about them or Andy Hall, so shocked at his lack of knowledge and his unwillingness to help. Yet he was in the country 3 times last year. wish I could say more, maybe later but diplomats and minsters have one thing on their mind, this one does anyhow that is trade+money

[optad]

Defamation should be treated as a summary offence with financial penalties if proven. Treating it as a criminal offence gives the charge a weaponised nature and fundamentally wrong as seen here as opinion is not arbitrary. Murder is an arbitrary crime becasue of the clear contraventions of right and wrong however expressing wild opinions which may defame do not have these clear boundaries. 

[nong38]

I have not always agreed with Johnathan Head's view of the situation here but the powers that be's reaction has been very much over the top, rather draconian, there are times when no reaction is the best action.

[Puccini]

On 2/23/2017 at 11:25 AM, Denim said:

With all the talk of  ' reform ' by the padites and their military friends it's a real pity that the defamation laws are not on the top of the reform list.

 

It's a crazy situation whereby anyone who exposes a well connected thief doing something criminal is themselves likely to be the one who ends up with a heavy fine or jail sentence.

 

 

 

What are padites?

[Asiantravel]

9 hours ago, wakeupplease said:

Spoke to one the other day and brought up Jonathon and Ian. He did not know about them or Andy Hall, so shocked at his lack of knowledge and his unwillingness to help. Yet he was in the country 3 times last year. wish I could say more, maybe later but diplomats and minsters have one thing on their mind, this one does anyhow that is trade+money

and when the next cocktail party is

[CGW]

On 2/25/2017 at 8:25 AM, soalbundy said:

bad guys out, we don't want his sort in Thailand running around telling the truth, it would embarrass all the good guys at the top of the tree. We can only hope that this will be splashed all over the western press and that for once the British ambassador will pull his lazy finger out and actually do something behind the scenes for a British citizen. 

Herein lies the problem as I see it, for "reasons" political obviously, the BBC & others are not the free & independent press they say they are, how often do things that happen here go unreported in the UK press?

If they wanted they could destroy tourism in Thailand quite easily, they choose not too! - why I have no real idea! but suspect it is because Thailand lets the US & the Brits run "safe" houses here (read torture centers!) among many other things that we are doubtless not going to be allowed to know. The behind the scenes politics will always be the main driver in the world we live in & it appears Thailand knows how to play the system!

[JAG]

What do you know about racism, ThaiCitizen?
What exactly is a citizen anyway, according to you? That's rhetorical, I couldn't bear the tedium of your answer.
 
But onto the main course...
 
"They are imbeciles" means, according to you and your fascist, pseudo-liberalism, that farmers, somtam sellers, motorbike taxis and anyone else with Thai citizenship is directly responsible for how Thailand operates. It is your nonsense, bias, deceit, lack of insight or denial of reality that equates governance with race.
 
You're sick of [whatever] are you? Yet you still come here and read it. That in itself narrows down my above list of potential reasons why you think giving a damn about Thailand is racist. You know, the only interesting thing about you is you're a younger version of the usual twerp: your sort doesn't usually slag off pensioners. Anyway, my money's on you're an Alright Jack.
 

Well said.
My money is actually on him being a westerner who has bought into the whole "more Thai than the Thais, I really practice Thainess" thing.
I suspect that a Thai sufficiently fluent in English to post thus would probably be rather embarrassed by the whole business.

[jimster]

On ‎2‎/‎23‎/‎2017 at 4:13 PM, Chip Allen said:

Time for so-called "diplomats" to get medieval on Thai government officials. It's gone far enough. Defamation, Lese Majeste etc. Non-Thai residents should be immune from prosecution under these insane statutes.

Time for you to go home. Who are you, some random farang to tell Thai officials and Thailand what to do? How dare you even suggest that non-Thais (foreigners) should be immune from the laws of the country they choose to reside in? How would you feel if Thais told you that their officials, their citizens should be immune from any laws they disagree with in your home country?

 

Also, are you really naïve enough to think that there are no defamation laws or other weapons that silence criticism of public officials, certain government policies etc. in the west? There is still far more freedom in Thailand than in any western country. There is even one crazy law, in effect in at least 16 countries (mostly in Europe), that bans any questioning of a particular event that is said to have occurred last century. Question it and you can go to jail for up to 20 years in some countries. That law is as much a weapon to stifle free speech in the west as anything you claim Thailand is guilty of. And yet here you are on your high horse trying to hold the rest of the world hostage to your self-imposed standards of western morality. Your attitude is nothing short of neo-colonial.

Edited March 1, 2017 by jimster

[Briggsy]

Posters are passing comment as if this is a government decision. The plaintiff is a private individual who, in Thailand's odd legal system, can initiate criminal proceedings in a defamation case.

 

Given that the alleged fraud involved numerous public officials allegedly, particularly at the Land Registry and the Police allegedly, it is safe to say the lawyer who claimed he has been defamed is very connected.

 

I don't think the prosecution will result in a guilty verdict but Jonathan Head and his co-defendant will be placed under intimidating pressure and waste hours in court rooms, lawyer's offices and travelling to and from Phuket. This is in addition to not being able to travel abroad, not being able to further publicise the alleged fraud and the stress of being a defendant.

[jimster]

On ‎2‎/‎24‎/‎2017 at 3:00 PM, Jonathan Swift said:

Meaning that you think human rights activists should say and do nothing, or is your statement simply a grim unbiased observation? I am American, a country which once was a leader for democracy in the free world, and a totally free press and right to speak is guaranteed in our constitution, our courts have solidly upheld those principles with rare exception. Now my (former) country is collapsing under big money corruption and a very large angry and hateful part of the general population who elected an insane monster to the presidency. And yet, the free press remains a loud voice for freedom, and in solidarity with a majority of horrified Americans, this monster president will likely be unseated. It makes me very sad to see a country like Thailand exacerbating its economic woes by failing to act as the prime minister no doubt knows he should. Those American Wall St "gods" who in 2007 caused an economic collapse unheard of since the Great Depression were never prosecuted for their crimes, a dark stain on freedom and democracy. And as it stands, unlike the Obama administration, it's unlikely that America will weigh in and bring to bear the ammunition of public and world condemnation which it could easily do. So I am sad for both countries. Nobody wins except the oligarchs, and the lawyers. Sad, but still hopeful

Oh dear. Another deluded liberal who thinks Obama could do no wrong but demonizes Trump because he is an anti-globalist (a good thing). I'm no Trump fan, he has his good policies and his bad ones just like everyone else. But if you think things are bad in America because of Trump, who has only been in power a few weeks, you are as delusional and brainwashed as they come.

 

The reality is you haven't had a president or an administration in power that has acted in your interests since at least JFK. Trump is no different, despite his "America first" rhetoric he is in reality a sell-out for globalist interests just the same as Obama was, George Dubbya Bush before him, Bill "I didn't have sexual relations with that woman" Clinton, George Bush senior, Johnson and all the others.

 

The "freedom of the press" you claim still exists in America today is a myth. A small number of local news and media outlets still (largely) tell the truth, the rest of them, the ones owned and operated by the corporate media giants are anything but free and impartial - they all receive their news from the same sources and all tell exactly the same stories. They just pretend they are and to their credit, have done a fantastic job at deluding and brainwashing Americans and westerners in general to make them think they are free and superior to the rest of the world, when the reality is anything but. The first amendment still exists, but a determined group of people are trying their best to destroy it and if they get their way, they will.

[jimster]

On ‎2‎/‎23‎/‎2017 at 10:45 PM, billd766 said:

 

I only read the BBC online news and I don't watch TV. Jonathon Head is biased on the side of Thaksin.

 

I used to read his reports about Isaan and the UDD and the interviews that he did but I don't remember any that he did with the Democrats even for a balanced report.

 

I may have missed them in which case I am sorry but that is the way I see his reporting and there wasn't a lot of that either.

Which is why Head, like most western journalists, are little more than foreign lobbyists masquerading as journalists trying to subvert public opinion in Thailand in line with the interests of western countries/oligarchs. His biased reporting is clear evidence of that.

 

I would fully support foreign journalists needing to be registered and vetted by the Thai government. Given how many western journalists including John Pilger from the BBC and others have come out and told the truth about the methods the media uses to try and mold public opinion in a certain direction, it's clear evidence that if this vetting didn't occur, it would be the journalists who would need to be held accountable for causing a riot or other disturbance based on lies and fake reporting. I doubt the British government would allow Thai journalists to report whatever they like in any fashion they like, why should the BBC or any other western news agency be any different?

[scorecard]

1 hour ago, jimster said:

Time for you to go home. Who are you, some random farang to tell Thai officials and Thailand what to do? How dare you even suggest that non-Thais (foreigners) should be immune from the laws of the country they choose to reside in? How would you feel if Thais told you that their officials, their citizens should be immune from any laws they disagree with in your home country?

 

Also, are you really naïve enough to think that there are no defamation laws or other weapons that silence criticism of public officials, certain government policies etc. in the west? There is still far more freedom in Thailand than in any western country. There is even one crazy law, in effect in at least 16 countries (mostly in Europe), that bans any questioning of a particular event that is said to have occurred last century. Question it and you can go to jail for up to 20 years in some countries. That law is as much a weapon to stifle free speech in the west as anything you claim Thailand is guilty of. And yet here you are on your high horse trying to hold the rest of the world hostage to your self-imposed standards of western morality. Your attitude is nothing short of neo-colonial.

 

Put all of that another way, would you (or anybody) allow your government to allow foreigners / visitors to be allowed to do things outside of the laws of your country?

[Chip Allen]

2 hours ago, scorecard said:

 

Put all of that another way, would you (or anybody) allow your government to allow foreigners / visitors to be allowed to do things outside of the laws of your country?

Ever hear of "diplomatic immunity"?? It has been a standard for many years. Where Thai laws are fair and just they should be followed. Only democratic countries are qualified to judge the fairness and equitability of developing countries. Merely because they believe that a government should be for sale, does not compel the rest of the world to agree with them. If you believe that countries have the right to conduct their affairs any way they desire, go and live in North Korea, You may develop a better appreciation of the necessity for dissent.