Free Our Friend Jatupat Immediately!
Send postcards to #FreePai
Posted February 7, 2017
We invite everyone to write brief, encouraging messages to Pai. The message should be non-political (“Thinking of you”, or “Wishing you well”, for example). In order to show the Thai authorities Pai’s international support, please include the name of your university (if applicable) and country. Postcards can be mailed to:
Jatupat (Pai) Boonpattararaksa
Khon Kaen Special Correctional Institution
117 Sri Chant Road
Tambon Nai Muang
Amphur Muang
Khon Kaen 40000
THAILAND
Khon Kaen Special Correctional Institution
117 Sri Chant Road
Tambon Nai Muang
Amphur Muang
Khon Kaen 40000
THAILAND
Want to build more support for Pai? Consider taking a photo with/of your postcard and posting it to social media. Use the hashtag #FreePai and tag @ScholarsAtRisk and other NGOs participating in this effort: Protection International (@ProtectionInt), Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (@lawyercenter2014), and iLaw (@iLawclub).
Our friend, Pai Boonpattararaksa from the activist group Dao Din is in jail. Many of us in ENGAGE know Pai personally or have worked with Dao Din. We are working with other organizations on how to best support by and agitate for his release. Pai was released on bail, but then arrested again after posting, “Economy is poor, but they (authorities) took my money for bail.” Pai has repeatedly been denied bail.
From the Scholars at Risk Network
“On December 2, 2016, Mr. Boonpattararaksa posted a BBC Thai article about King Rama X, who ascended the throne that month, on his Facebook account. Authorities arrested him the following day, charging him under Article 112 with lèse majesté, marking the first instance of a student detained in connection with such a charge since the new king's ascension to the throne. Although the article has reportedly been reposted by more than 2,600 others, we understand that only Mr. Boonpattararaksa was arrested and charged with a crime for doing so.”
From Prachatai
A provincial court in northeastern Thailand has denied bail for an anti-junta student activist accused of lèse majesté.
At about 12:30 pm on 20 January 2016, the Khon Kaen Provincial Court of in an in-camera hearing granted police permission to continue the detention of Jatuphat ‘Pai’ Boonpattararaksa, a law student and key member of the New Democracy Movement (NDM).
Jatuphat is accused of violating Article 112 of the Criminal Code, the lèse majesté law, for sharing on his Facebook account a controversial biography of King Vajiralongkorn published by BBC Thai. He is the first person to be arrested for lèse majesté under the reign of the new King.
When the court informed the activist that the hearing would be held in secret, Jatuphat objected to the procedure, adding he does not need a lawyer and will not sign any documents.
About 40 people, including Sulak Sivaraksa, the renowned anti-lèse majesté Thai scholar; Netiwit Chotipatpaisal, a well-known student activist; and Piyabutr Saengkanokkul, a Thammasat University law lecturer, travelled to Khon Kaen to observe the trial and offer moral support to the embattled activist.
This is the fifth time the court has extended pre-trial custody. Jatuphat will be detained in Khon Kaen Prison for 12 more days with the possibility of a further renewal.
Shortly after he was arrested for lèse majesté on 3 December 2016, the court released Jatuphat on bail.
However, his bail was revoked on 22 December after he posted a satirical message mocking authorities on his Facebook account.
The message read, “Economy is poor but they (authorities) took my money for bail.”
From Human Rights Watch
(New York) – Thai authorities should immediately release a prominent pro-democracy activist charged for a Facebook posting under laws intended to protect Thailand’s monarchy, Human Rights Watch said today. Jatupat (Pai) Boonphatthararaksa faces up to 15 years in prison for lese majeste (insulting the monarchy) charges initiated by the military.
“The charges against Jatupat show the Thai junta’s misuse of lese majeste laws to persecute dissenters against military rule,” said Brad Adams, Asia director. “Thailand’s military rulers have aggressively clamped down on any speech they find objectionable, including what they arbitrarily deem is critical of the monarchy.”
Jatupat was charged with lese majeste offenses under article 112 of the Criminal Code and violation of the Computer Crimes Act for posting on his Facebook page a profile of Thailand’s new monarch, King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun, published by the BBC Thai language service on December 2, 2016. Thai authorities deemed the article to be critical of the monarchy and blocked it from viewing in Thailand.
Jatupat, who is a 25-year-old student activist affiliated with the Dao Din Movement and the New Democracy Movement (NDM), was arrested on December 3. Although more than 2,800 people had “shared” the article on the internet at the time of Jatupat’s arrest, he was the only person Thai authorities charged with lese majeste.
The case against Jatupat was triggered by a complaint filed by an army officer from the 23rd Military Circle in Khon Kaen Province. That military unit has arrested him many times for holding public protests and other peaceful activities to oppose the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) junta and demand a transition to democratic civilian rule.
After his arrest, Jatupat was initially released on 400,000 Baht (US$11,000) bail on December 4. On December 22, the Khon Kaen provincial court revoked his bail, ruling that he had made other Facebook comments satirizing the authorities, and failed to delete his original post of the king’s profile. The court has since repeatedly denied Jatupat’s bail requests.
On January 20, the court held a closed-door hearing – without Jatupat’s lawyer’s participation – and extended his pre-trial detention 12 days, the fifth such extension. He is currently detained at the Khon Kaen provincial correctional institution and subjected to abusive cavity searches every time he returns from a court hearing. Because of his detention, Jatupat has been prevented from taking exams that he needs to graduate from Khon Kaen University’s Faculty of Law.
Thailand’s military rulers have aggressively clamped down on any speech they find objectionable, including what they arbitrarily deem is critical of the monarchy.
Further Reading
Detained student activist misses examination, jeopardising his graduation
Protest for detained student activist Pai Dao Din
Pai Daodin is Thailand’s Rosa Parks
Activists head northeast to demand release of ‘Pai Daodin’
From the Scholars at Risk Network
“On December 2, 2016, Mr. Boonpattararaksa posted a BBC Thai article about King Rama X, who ascended the throne that month, on his Facebook account. Authorities arrested him the following day, charging him under Article 112 with lèse majesté, marking the first instance of a student detained in connection with such a charge since the new king's ascension to the throne. Although the article has reportedly been reposted by more than 2,600 others, we understand that only Mr. Boonpattararaksa was arrested and charged with a crime for doing so.”
From Prachatai
A provincial court in northeastern Thailand has denied bail for an anti-junta student activist accused of lèse majesté.
At about 12:30 pm on 20 January 2016, the Khon Kaen Provincial Court of in an in-camera hearing granted police permission to continue the detention of Jatuphat ‘Pai’ Boonpattararaksa, a law student and key member of the New Democracy Movement (NDM).
Jatuphat is accused of violating Article 112 of the Criminal Code, the lèse majesté law, for sharing on his Facebook account a controversial biography of King Vajiralongkorn published by BBC Thai. He is the first person to be arrested for lèse majesté under the reign of the new King.
When the court informed the activist that the hearing would be held in secret, Jatuphat objected to the procedure, adding he does not need a lawyer and will not sign any documents.
About 40 people, including Sulak Sivaraksa, the renowned anti-lèse majesté Thai scholar; Netiwit Chotipatpaisal, a well-known student activist; and Piyabutr Saengkanokkul, a Thammasat University law lecturer, travelled to Khon Kaen to observe the trial and offer moral support to the embattled activist.
This is the fifth time the court has extended pre-trial custody. Jatuphat will be detained in Khon Kaen Prison for 12 more days with the possibility of a further renewal.
Shortly after he was arrested for lèse majesté on 3 December 2016, the court released Jatuphat on bail.
However, his bail was revoked on 22 December after he posted a satirical message mocking authorities on his Facebook account.
The message read, “Economy is poor but they (authorities) took my money for bail.”
From Human Rights Watch
(New York) – Thai authorities should immediately release a prominent pro-democracy activist charged for a Facebook posting under laws intended to protect Thailand’s monarchy, Human Rights Watch said today. Jatupat (Pai) Boonphatthararaksa faces up to 15 years in prison for lese majeste (insulting the monarchy) charges initiated by the military.
“The charges against Jatupat show the Thai junta’s misuse of lese majeste laws to persecute dissenters against military rule,” said Brad Adams, Asia director. “Thailand’s military rulers have aggressively clamped down on any speech they find objectionable, including what they arbitrarily deem is critical of the monarchy.”
Jatupat was charged with lese majeste offenses under article 112 of the Criminal Code and violation of the Computer Crimes Act for posting on his Facebook page a profile of Thailand’s new monarch, King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun, published by the BBC Thai language service on December 2, 2016. Thai authorities deemed the article to be critical of the monarchy and blocked it from viewing in Thailand.
Jatupat, who is a 25-year-old student activist affiliated with the Dao Din Movement and the New Democracy Movement (NDM), was arrested on December 3. Although more than 2,800 people had “shared” the article on the internet at the time of Jatupat’s arrest, he was the only person Thai authorities charged with lese majeste.
The case against Jatupat was triggered by a complaint filed by an army officer from the 23rd Military Circle in Khon Kaen Province. That military unit has arrested him many times for holding public protests and other peaceful activities to oppose the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) junta and demand a transition to democratic civilian rule.
After his arrest, Jatupat was initially released on 400,000 Baht (US$11,000) bail on December 4. On December 22, the Khon Kaen provincial court revoked his bail, ruling that he had made other Facebook comments satirizing the authorities, and failed to delete his original post of the king’s profile. The court has since repeatedly denied Jatupat’s bail requests.
On January 20, the court held a closed-door hearing – without Jatupat’s lawyer’s participation – and extended his pre-trial detention 12 days, the fifth such extension. He is currently detained at the Khon Kaen provincial correctional institution and subjected to abusive cavity searches every time he returns from a court hearing. Because of his detention, Jatupat has been prevented from taking exams that he needs to graduate from Khon Kaen University’s Faculty of Law.
Thailand’s military rulers have aggressively clamped down on any speech they find objectionable, including what they arbitrarily deem is critical of the monarchy.
Further Reading
Detained student activist misses examination, jeopardising his graduation
Protest for detained student activist Pai Dao Din
Pai Daodin is Thailand’s Rosa Parks
Activists head northeast to demand release of ‘Pai Daodin’