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Somyot Prueksakasemsuk

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Somyot Prueksakasemsuk
สมยศ พฤกษาเกษมสุข
Born (1961-11-09) 9 November 1961 (age 63)
Bangkok, Thailand
NationalityThai
Alma materRamkhamhaeng University
Occupations
  • Activist
  • magazine editor
Known forprisoner of conscience (2013 Thai lese majeste conviction)

Somyot Prueksakasemsuk (Thai: สมยศ พฤกษาเกษมสุข) is a Thai activist and magazine editor who in 2013 was sentenced to eleven years' imprisonment for lese majeste against King Bhumibol Adulyadej. His sentence drew protest from the European Union and from numerous human rights groups, including Amnesty International, which designated him a prisoner of conscience. He was an editor of the “Voice of Thaksin” (Voice of the Oppressed) magazine and a prominent labour rights activist affiliated with the Democratic Alliance of Trade Unions who protested for Thai labour law reform.[1]

First lèse majesté incident

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Somyot is a member of the "red shirts", a movement supporting former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra; Thaksin was removed from power in 2006 by a coup d'état.[2] In 2010, Somyot, then the editor of the magazine Voice of Thaksin, published two articles critical of a fictional character interpreted by the court as representing King Bhumibol Adulyadej.[3][4] He was not the author of the two articles.[5][6] Somyot was arrested for lèse majesté on 30 April 2011, five days after launching a grassroots campaign to collect ten thousand signatures for a petition that called for reform of the lèse majesté law.[7]

Somyot was arrested and imprisoned without bail for nearly two years.[2] On 23 January 2013, the Criminal Court of Thailand convicted him of lèse majesté and sentenced to a total of eleven years in prison: one year for a suspended sentence for a defamation charge, and five years each for the two counts of violating Article 112, the lèse majesté law.[2] The judge stated: "The accused is a journalist who had a duty to check the facts in these articles before publishing them. He knew the content defamed the monarchy but allowed their publication anyway".[4] Somyot's lawyer said following the verdict that Somyot would appeal, adding: "I can confirm that he did not intend to violate Article 112 ... He was doing his job as a journalist."[2]

The judge in Somyot's case was Chanathip Mueanphawong (ชนาธิป เหมือนพะวงศ์), who has presided over many lèse majesté cases, including the case of Ampon Tangnoppakul or Uncle SMS in which the judge sentenced Ampon to twenty years in prison; the case of Surachai Danwattananusorn, who was sentenced to imprisonment for five years and six months; and the case of Chiranuch Premchaiporn, who was given a suspended sentence of one-year imprisonment on grounds of failing to remove lèse majesté comments on her website.[8][9][10]

International reaction

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The verdict came at a time when Thailand's lèse majesté laws were becoming increasingly controversial domestically and internationally.[3][4] Thai activists and human rights groups stated that the laws were disproportionately used to imprison "red shirts" and other political opponents of the government.[3] Prior to the trial, an alliance of human rights organizations lobbied for the dismissal of the charges against Somyot, including Amnesty International, Freedom House, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT).[11] Amnesty International called Somyot a "human rights defender" and designated him a prisoner of conscience, imprisoned "simply for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression".[12] The Asian Human Rights Commission argued that the lèse majesté law itself was unconstitutional in Thailand, protesting a Constitutional Court decision to uphold it.[11]

A delegation of the European Union criticized the verdict in Somyot's case, stating that it "seriously undermines the right to freedom of expression and press freedom".[2] Human Rights Watch stated that "The courts seem to have adopted the role of chief protector of the monarchy at the expense of free expression rights".[3] Reporters Without Borders called the verdict an "affront to media freedom".[13]

The court's chief judge, Thawee Prachuablarb, defended the sentence: "There have been criticisms, rather one-sided, that the court was too harsh in its judgement but the five-year prison term for each of the two counts is considered appropriate ... It is mid-way between the minimum sentence under this law, which is three years, and the maximum punishment of 15 years. The court made its ruling in accordance with the law."[14]

His release from prison

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Somyot Prueksakasemsuk finished his sentence and was released from prison on 30 April 2018. In interviews, he said that he had lost his family and his job as a result of the lèse majesté charge, and that at one point in jail, after developing gout due to wounds from his shackles, he had attempted suicide.[15] Immediately upon his release, he vowed to go back to fighting for democracy: "Participating in political activities is a civic duty. . . . I will join with any movement that demands elections. That's surely a good thing."[16]

Demanding Justice for Disappeared and Assassinated Political Dissidents

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Somyot played a leading role in demanding justice for a series of disappeared and assassinated lese majesty refugees who had been living in countries neighboring Thailand. After Surachai Danwattananusorn (aka Surachai Saedan), Chatchan Boophawan, and Kraidet Leulert disappeared on 13 December 2018, and the mutilated bodies of two of the men were subsequently found, Somyot with Surachai's widow Paranee Danwattananusorn sent a letter to Thailand's National Human Rights Commission, dated 5 March 2019, “Calling for Investigation into the Enforced Disappearance of Surachai Danwattananusorn and the Group Assassinated.” [17] Later three more Thai refugees with a similar background disappeared 8 May 2019, reportedly after being captured in Vietnam traveling with fake passports.[18] Somyot helped Kanya Teerawut, mother of one of the disappeared, Siam Teerawut, to campaign (unsuccessfully) for his return. When Thai political refugee Wanchalearm Satsaksit was kidnapped in front of many witnesses in Phom Phen Cambodia, Somyot was once again at the forefront of the campaign demanding an investigation and justice for the disappeared dissident.[19]

Further Arrests for Sedition and Lese Majesty

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Somyot was arrested again on 16 October 2020, under Article 116 of the Thai Criminal Code, a sedition charge, related to a speech given at a political rally on 19 September 2020.[20] He was released on 3 November 2020.

Somyot was arrested again on 9 February 2021, also for the speech on 19 September 2020, this time for lese majesty.[21] He is currently bail on 23 April 2021.[22]

Awards

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In 2016, Somyot Prueksakasemsuk won the 24th Jeon Tae Il special Labour Award by the Jeon Tae Il Foundation.[23]

References

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  1. ^ "Case History: Somyot Prueksakasemsuk". Front Line Defenders. 17 December 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Activist Somyot Prueksakasemsuk jailed for 11 years under Thailand's lese majeste laws". The Australian. Agence France-Presse. 23 January 2013. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d Andrew Buncombe (23 January 2013). "Thai magazine editor jailed for 11 years for insulting king". The Independent. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  4. ^ a b c "Thailand jails magazine editor over articles defaming king". The Guardian. Reuters. 23 January 2013. Archived from the original on 15 February 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  5. ^ "Lese majesty prisoner Somyot released". Bangkok Post. 30 April 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  6. ^ "As prison term ends, lese majeste convict Somhot pledges to go back to fighting for democracy". The Nation. 1 May 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  7. ^ "Thailand: Quash Editor's Conviction for 'Insulting Monarchy'". Human Rights Watch. 24 February 2017. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  8. ^ พิพากษาจำคุก 7 ปีครึ่ง “สุรชัย แซ่ด่าน” ยังเหลืออีก 2 คดี (in Thai). Prachatai. n.d. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  9. ^ ศาลนัดพร้อมคดีผอ.ประชาไทถูกฟ้องผิดพ.ร.บ.คอมพิวเตอร์ สืบพยาน ก.พ.54 (in Thai). Prachatai. 1 June 2010. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  10. ^ "Case#112 - Prachatai" (in Thai). ilaw. n.d. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  11. ^ a b "Somyot lese majeste judgement on Wednesday". The Bangkok Post. 22 January 2013. Archived from the original on 4 November 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  12. ^ "Thailand: Release human rights defender imprisoned for insulting the monarchy". Amnesty International. 23 January 2013. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  13. ^ "Editor Gets 11 Years in Affront to Media Freedom". Reporters Without Borders. 23 January 2013. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  14. ^ "Court plays down harshness of Somyot's sentence". The Bangkok Post. 25 January 2013. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  15. ^ Phaholtap, Hathairat (24 May 2018). "Somyot 'No Longer Human" After 7 Years of Prison for Lese Majeste". Kaosod English. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  16. ^ "As prison term ends, lese majeste convict Somhot pledges to go back to fighting for democracy". The Nation. 1 May 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  17. ^ ""RE: Calling for Investigation into the Enforced Disappearance of Surachai Danwattananusorn and the Group Assassinated."". Letter to. 5 March 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2021.{{cite press release}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  18. ^ ""Thailand: Critics Feared 'Disappeared'"". Human Rights Watch. 9 May 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  19. ^ ""A Thai Dissident Was 'Kidnapped' in Cambodia. Protesters and the UN Want Answers"". Vice. 16 June 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  20. ^ ""Arrested activist Somyot predicts victory for pro-democracy protesters"". The Nation. 23 October 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  21. ^ ""Prominent Activists Held in Pre-Trial Detention"". Human Rights Watch. 9 February 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  22. ^ "Activists Somyot, Pai Dao Din walk free on bail". Bangkok Post. 23 April 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  23. ^ "Newsletter - KHMU INFO <9> November 15, 2016 Thai Prisoner of Conscience Somyot Prueksakasemsuk Is Awarded The Jeon Tae Il Labour Prize". bogun.nodong.org (in Korean). 15 November 2016.
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