Thai judge shoots himself in court after railing at justice system

This handout picture taken and released by Thai Royal Household Bureau on May 1, 2019 shows Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn (R) and Queen Suthida during their wedding ceremony in Bangkok. Thailand announced on May 1 that King Maha Vajiralongkorn's long-time consort had become his fourth wife, bestowed with the title Queen Suthida -- a surprise move just days before his coronation. (AFP/Handout / Thai Royal Household Bureau ) 

A Thai judge shot himself in the chest in front of a packed court after acquitting several murder suspects and decrying the kingdom's judicial system in an impassioned speech broadcast on Facebook Live.

Critics say Thailand's courts often work in favour of the rich and powerful, while delivering swift and harsh sentences on ordinary people for minor offences. 

Kanakorn Pianchana, a judge at Yala court in the heart of the insurgency-battered Thai south, was delivering the verdict for five Muslim suspects in a gun murder case on Friday afternoon.

He acquitted the group, delivered a courtroom plea for a cleaner justice system, before pulling out a handgun and shooting himself in the chest. 

"You need clear and credible evidence to punish someone. So if you're not sure, don't punish them," the judge said addressing the court and broadcasting his words on his phone on Facebook live.

"I'm not saying that the five defendants didn't commit the crimes, they might have done so...

"But the judicial process needs to be transparent and credible... punishing wrong people makes them scapegoats."

The Facebook feed then cut, but witnesses said Kanakorn recited a legal oath in front of the former Thai king's portrait, before shooting himself in the chest.

"He is being treated by the doctors and is out of danger," Suriyan Hongvilai, the spokesman of the Office of the Judiciary, told AFP on Saturday.

"He shot himself because of 'personal stress'. But the cause behind the stress is not clear and will be investigated," he said.

No Thai judge has ever breached protocol by making similar statements on the wider justice system, he added.

A lawyer working with the suspects said Judge Kanakorn had ruled the prosecutor's evidence was insufficient to convict. 

"Right now the five are still being detained and are waiting to see if the state prosecutor appeals their acquittal," Abdulloh Hayee-abu, of the Muslim Attorney Centre in Yala told AFP. 

Over 7,000 people have died in 15 years of conflict in the Malay-Muslim majority southern region. 

Thousands of suspects have been jailed for acts linked to the insurgency, many under emergency laws imposed on the restive region.

Advocacy groups in the Thai south have long accused security forces of trumping up charges against Muslim suspects and using emergency laws to drive cases through the courts.

Source - TheJakartaPost

#Thailand - Princess Ubolratana Mahidol runs as Prime Ministerial candidate in election

In a stunning political move, Princess Ubolratana Mahidol,  the eldest child of the late King Bhumibol, Rama 9, has been nominated by the Thai Raksa Chart party.

 

Her nomination as a Prime Ministerial candidate immediately places the plans of current PM and the Junta-leaning Palang Pracharat party into disarray.

 

 To paint this as an ‘upset’ move in the last day of nominations is an understatement. Not only now running as an opponent to the NCPO Chief, who is running as a PM candidate for Palang Pracharat, but also running with a party historically aligned with a fugitive former prime minister.

 

This is the first time a close member of the royal family has sought political office in Thialand’s 86 years as a constitutional monarchy. Today is the final day political parties can nominate candidates for next month’s election.

 

The Princess’s entry into politics has completely reshaped what was already looking like a major battle for votes from multiple fronts – new parties and the largest field of candidates ever standing for a national election.

 

The announcement today is seen as a profoundly political maneuver from the country’s highest institution and shades the military, and Prayut, as it prepares to cede power.

The Thai national election is being held on March 24.

Thai Raksa Chart party make the announcement this morning.

 

Source - TheThaiger

Not a Red or Yellow, but a Black Day in #Thailand

Yingluck sentenced to five years in prison

The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled unanimously to sentence fugitive former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra to five years in prison.

The fugitive politician was convicted of negligence in preventing corruption and irregularities in her government’s rice-pledging scheme prior to the 2014 coup.

The Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders ruled that Yingluck had acknowledged the illegality of government-to-government rice deals but refused to cancel a contract with a Chinese state enterprise.

The court ruled that the deal involved ill-gotten gains and the dishonest discharge of official duties.

Not a Red or Yellow, but a Black Day in Thailand

“The defendant was found guilty of the alleged offences under Section 157 of the Criminal Code and Section 123/1 of the Organic Act on Counter Corruption 1999 and was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment,” a statement from the court read.

The court will issue another arrest warrant against Yingluck, after an initial warrant was issued when she failed to appear before the court on August 25, when the verdict was originally scheduled to be read.

Source - TheNation

Thai junta pressures Google, Facebook, Line to censor content

Thailand's junta is ramping up pressure on internet giants Google and Facebook — and the popular messaging app Line — to scrub the country's web of any content it dislikes, officials confirmed yesterday.

The military seized power in a 2014 coup and has launched the harshest rights crackdowns in decades, arresting critics, muzzling the media and banning political gatherings or protests.

The web, in particular social media, has remained one of the few avenues open to Thais to speak out — though not without risks. Prosecutions have soared with many arrested for online posts.

Junta officials are now seeking face-to-face meetings with major web companies to try and speed up how quickly they take down objectionable content.

 

Police Major-General Pisit Paoin, from the junta's committee on mass media reform, said officials would meet with Google, Facebook and Line over the next three months "to ask for their co-operation in dealing with illegal images or clips that affect security and the nation's core institution."

"There have been tens of thousand of the illegal posts over the past five years," he said.

Officials held the first of their meetings with Google recently. Minutes of that meeting were leaked last week by hackers and later published widely by local media showing Thai officials are pushing for big web companies to agree to takedowns without a court order.

Maj-Gen Pisit said large web companies have reacted with reluctance over the past five years to previous requests to censor content.

"We have received better response from Google in the US (since the meeting)," he said. "Now we plan on talking with Line and Facebook."

Globally, web firms must comply with local laws and routinely block content within that country if presented with a court order.

But the leaked minutes suggest the Thai junta want a far more lenient standard adopted.

In a statement Line said it "has yet to be contacted by an official entity requesting such censorship" but added that "the privacy of Line users is our top priority."

"Once we have been officially contacted, we will perform our due diligence towards the related parties and consider an appropriate solution that does not conflict with our company's global standards, nor the laws of Thailand," the statement added.

The Japanese company is by far the most popular social messaging app in Thailand and is even used by many government ministries and police stations to officially brief media.

Last week, a man was arrested for sharing a video allegedly mocking junta leader Prayuth Chan-o-cha with his friends on Line, suggesting the Thai authorities are already monitoring the messenger for content it disapproves of.

Facebook and Google have yet to respond to AFP's requests for comment.

Source: Coconuts.co

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