Chiranuch Premchaiporn
Thai webmaster found guilty over royal 'insults'
The government singled me out to make an example. They should know that there are other ways around this – we will continue writing.
Chiranuch Premchaiporn is executive director of Prachatai, an independent news website that reports on human rights, social and political issues in Thailand and Southeast Asia. She was the webmaster of the now defunct Prachatai web board which was set up to promote the exchange of information and opinion on Thai political and social issues.
Human rights defenders in Thailand face threats, physical assaults, arbitrary detention, judicial harassment, and extrajudicial killings. Freedom of expression is limited in particular by the use of the Computer Crime Act and lese majeste law (prohibiting the criticism of the royal family), which have been repeatedly used to target political activists, human rights defenders and other independent voices.
