Man Arrested After Lese Majeste Facebook Comment

by Jon Russell

Friday, April 30, 2010 at 07:03 AM EDT

AFP has news that a 37 year old Thai man in Rayong has been arrested "for allegedly insulting the kingdom's royal family on Facebook".

The new comes a few weeks after a government press release warned that social networks in Thailand are under "thorough watch" -- as blogged here -- although the comment itself was made last month (March 19), according to the AFP article, more details of which are below.

Thai authorities have arrested and charged an anti-government "Red Shirt" sympathiser for allegedly insulting the kingdom's royal family on Facebook, police said Friday.

Wipas Raksakulthai, 37, was arrested at his home in eastern Rayong province on Thursday accused of violating the country's lese majeste legislation with a posting on the social networking website last month.

"Wipas has posted an inappropriate message and breached national security by insulting the monarchy on Facebook on March 19," Thailand's department of special investigations said.

The department's statement said the suspect admitted he was supporter of the Red Shirt movement, which has occupied key areas in the Thai capital in attempt to force snap elections, but he denied insulting the monarchy.

Internet content seen as overtly critical of Thailand's king — who enjoys a semi-divine status among many citizens — has been under close scrutiny since the Reds began their campaign in 2006.

Under the Thai criminal code, insulting the monarchy or a member of royal family can result in jail terms of up to 15 years.

Anyone can file a lese majeste complaint in Thailand, and police are duty-bound to investigate it.

As is often the case for LM cases, the content of the comment itself has not been made public.

I recently blogged that political discussion during this period of unrest is responsible for the rapid increase in Facebook membership in Thailand. This case of LM on Facebook could be the first of many.

It is also worth noting there was controversy on Twitter these week when a number of Thai users retweeted (resent) a message which gave instructions on how to report lese majeste infringements to the authorities. Social networking is most definitely now part of the MICT beat.

This article originally appeared on Jon Russell: Social Media In Thailand.