Case History: Thaweeporn Kummetha
On 27 October 2015, the Department of the Royal Thai Army in Bang Sue questioned human rights journalist Ms Thaweeporn Kummetha about an article.
Thaweeporn Kummetha, also known as Am, is a human rights journalist, blogger and acting editor of Prachatai English, an English version of the Prachatai online newspaper. Prachatai provides information on human rights and violations of community rights. In her work, Thaweeporn Kummetha promotes freedom of expression and the right to access information in Thailand.
On 27 October 2015, the Department of the Royal Thai Army in Bang Sue questioned human rights journalist Ms Thaweeporn Kummetha about an article.
In the article, which was published by the online newspaper Prachatai on 20 October 2015, the human rights journalist compiled a list of recent cases of prosecution for defamation of the state or state officials under Article 112 of the Thai Criminal Code.
On 27 October 2015, the human rights journalist attended a meeting at the Department of the Royal Thai Army in Bang Sue in relation to an article she wrote for the Prachatai newspaper about the prosecution for defamation under Article 112 of the Thai Criminal Code, which is known as lèse majesté law. The article was published in Thai and compiled a list of cases of prosecution for defamation of the state or state officials and included an infographic titled “What could land you in jail for lèse majesté”.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Justice, the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), the People’s Technological Crime Suppression Division (TCSD), four officials from the Thai Journalist Association (TJA), including TJA President Wanchai Wongmeechai, and army officers. Thaweeporn Kummetha was accompanied by Chiranuch Premchaiporn, Prachatai Director, Chuwat Rerksirisuk, Prachatai directing editor and a representative from the organisation Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.
The chair of the meeting was a senior military officer, who declined to reveal his name. Referring to the article written by the human rights journalist, he stated that freedom of expression can not be a justification for violating the law and is not without legal consequences. Furthermore, he informed Thaweeporn Kummetha that she will be monitored further.
She was invited to the meeting one day earlier, on 26 October, when four military officers and two uniformed police officers visited her house in eastern Bangkok. Thaweeporn Kummetha was not there but the police officers informed her parents that she should appear at the army compound in Bang Sue, Bangkok. They showed her parents a printed copy of the concerned article and a picture of the human rights journalist participating in a rally against Article 112 several years ago. Earlier that day, at least three plain-clothed military officers were seen walking and riding motorcycle around the Prachatai office for six hours.
On 22 October, the human rights journalist was called on her phone by an anonymous person, who introduced himself as a representative of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). He said he was not satisfied with the news story and demanded to meet Thaweeporn Kummetha on 26 October. However, she declined to meet.
