February 14th, 2009, 03:45
Prominent academic Giles "Ji" Ungpakorn, charged last month with lese majeste, has fled to Britain claiming he does not believe he will receive a fair trial. Mr Giles, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University, faces up to 15 years in jail if convicted under the lese majeste law over a book he wrote about the 2006 military coup.
His case is the latest in a spate of prosecutions and increased censorship of websites allegedly critical of the royal family. "There is no justice in Thailand," said Mr Giles in an email sent yesterday to The Associated Press. "The regime seems to be inching towards a police state."
Pol Lt-Gen Wacharapon Prasatrachakit, a police spokesman, denied the charge by Mr Giles that he would not receive a fair trial. "There is no reason to believe he will not receive a fair trial," he said. "We have to look into the complaint, like every other complaint, and give everyone their chance to defend themselves. This case is no different." Pol Lt-Gen Wacharapon declined to elaborate on the case.
At the time of his arrest on Jan 20, Mr Giles told reporters outside the central Bangkok police station where he heard the charges: "Lese majeste is being used to destroy free speech. The lese majeste laws are there to protect the military and to protect governments that come to power through military action. They're not really about protecting the monarchy."
Mr Giles, who holds both Thai and British citizenship, has led a campaign to abolish the lese majeste law. The academic said he was targeted for political reasons because his 2007 book, A Coup for the Rich, criticised the military for ousting prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's government has announced plans to block websites allegedly critical of the royal family, raising hackles among freedom of speech proponents. Australian writer Harry Nicolaides was sent to prison for three years last month for defaming the monarchy in a novel. BBC reporter Jonathan Head faced the same charge last April. (From Agency reports) http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews ... pect-flees (http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/136371/lese-majeste-suspect-flees)
His case is the latest in a spate of prosecutions and increased censorship of websites allegedly critical of the royal family. "There is no justice in Thailand," said Mr Giles in an email sent yesterday to The Associated Press. "The regime seems to be inching towards a police state."
Pol Lt-Gen Wacharapon Prasatrachakit, a police spokesman, denied the charge by Mr Giles that he would not receive a fair trial. "There is no reason to believe he will not receive a fair trial," he said. "We have to look into the complaint, like every other complaint, and give everyone their chance to defend themselves. This case is no different." Pol Lt-Gen Wacharapon declined to elaborate on the case.
At the time of his arrest on Jan 20, Mr Giles told reporters outside the central Bangkok police station where he heard the charges: "Lese majeste is being used to destroy free speech. The lese majeste laws are there to protect the military and to protect governments that come to power through military action. They're not really about protecting the monarchy."
Mr Giles, who holds both Thai and British citizenship, has led a campaign to abolish the lese majeste law. The academic said he was targeted for political reasons because his 2007 book, A Coup for the Rich, criticised the military for ousting prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's government has announced plans to block websites allegedly critical of the royal family, raising hackles among freedom of speech proponents. Australian writer Harry Nicolaides was sent to prison for three years last month for defaming the monarchy in a novel. BBC reporter Jonathan Head faced the same charge last April. (From Agency reports) http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews ... pect-flees (http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/136371/lese-majeste-suspect-flees)