jginspace's Journal: Thai girl could be tried in juvenile court for Facebook post

Back in 2010, while the Thai military snipers in Bangkok were gearing up to slaughter nurses, journalists and protesters, many unarmed, some sheltering in a temple that had been declared a safe zone, a young student posted a mild rebuke to the monarchy on her Facebook page.

After that cyberstalkers posted her name and address online, leaflets were posted to her neighbours, she even received death threats and her family were intimidated. A network called 'Social Sanction' which actively hunted down individuals who posted views deemed disrespectful of the monarchy joined the fray. She planned to study at Silpakorn University however the dean, a known royalist, refused her application despite her having passed the exams.

She'd once got up on stage and made a speech at a Red Shirt rally, and had been kicked out of high school for criticizing the monarchy, so for a fiery young spirit like this it must have been a case of "here we go again ...", and ... she changed her name, actually both her names and attempted to enroll in another university. She passed the entrance exam at Prasarnmitr College but the interview was suddenly cut short and she later found out she'd been denied a place. She then applied to Kasetsart University but after a Facebook page called, "We are confident that the people of Kaset would not welcome someone who insults Father", was setup and a mob turned out at the university on the day of her interview she decided not to attend.

Recently it came to light that she had won a place at the famously liberal Thammasat University - she was just completing her first term. (Thammasat University is located right next to the Grand Palace in Bangkok and was the site of a massacre in 1976 where several royalist militia groups stormed the campus and killed, according to the official count, 46 students.)

The campaign of vilification predictably called for her expulsion from Thammasat but the head of the university stood firm. The right-wing media joined in the frenzy and she suffered attacks from fellow students. All sorts of screenshots from Facebook were posted online - the majority of which couldn't have been authentic - nevertheless someone filed a complaint with the police. The complaint was that the student had committed the dreaded 'Lese Majeste' offence - insulting the king, queen, crown prince or regent. (Anybody can walk into any police station and file a Lese Majeste complaint - and the police are bound to investigate it.) She's been asked to report for questioning on Wednesday. Fortunately she happens to be free that day as she's studying for her end of term exams.

She was born in May 1992, which means she was under 18 at the time of the supposed crimes, so should the case come to court she could be tried as a minor, possibly in a juvenile court. Her name is Natthakarn Sakuldarachat - aka 'Kan Thoob' (Joss Stick) - please support her.

Ban Pong

[jginspace]

I just read on Prachatai that Natthakarn comes from 'Baan Poeng' district. I guess this is a rendering of 'Ban Pong' (), a town you can't miss as you drive from Bangkok to Kanchanaburi. Reason you can't miss it: Right at the main junction of road 323 and the main drag there's a huge banner reading: "Welcome to Ban Pong, the Town of Friendly People". Ban Pong is very close to the Silpakorn University campus - presumably the one with the fascist/royalist dean who thought she didn't love the king enough.

Postponed to 11 Feb

[jginspace]

As anticipated, Natthakarn has managed to defer her meeting with the police until Feb 11 because she is busy studying for her exams, according to the latest report [prachatai3.info] from Prachatai.

The article states that she's being investigated for Facebook postings which appeared in April 2010. The investigating team had decided to drop charges but a certain deputy commander insisted on proceeding. He's been dying to talk to her for two months now - the appointment was previously postponed because of the floods.

Interview with Matichon

[jginspace]

Here's an interview [youtube.com] with Matichon - English translation [prachatai3.info] courtesy of Prachatai.

Indonesia, US

[jginspace]

And here's the Indonesian version:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/20/atheist-attacked-faces-jail-time-facebook-god_n_1219778.html [huffingtonpost.com]

And here's the same story US-style:
http://www.alternet.org/belief/153803/why_is_an_atheist_high_school_student_getting_vicious_death_threats/?page=entire [alternet.org]
http://www.rifuture.org/girl-at-the-center-of-the-cranston-prayer-banner-case-targeted-by-cyber-bullies.html [rifuture.org]