New Cyber Law Nets First Violator

UNCLAS BANGKOK 004926 SIPDIS DEPT PLEASE PASS EAP/PD, ECA, EAP/MLS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PGOV KPAO TH SUBJECT: New Cyber Law Nets First Violator ¶1. (SBU) Summary: The recent apprehension and release on bail of the webmaster of a website often critical of the monarchy was the first known arrest under the controversial Computer Related Offenses Act -- also known as the Computer Crimes Act -- which was signed into law in June. Authorities have declined to prosecute the webmaster for lese majeste, which carries more stringent penalties. Intimidated by his arrest, the webmaster has not gone public with his case and many MEDIA outlets have hesitated to report his story. There is no evidence, however, that there are efforts afoot to cover-up this story. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) A prominent human rights attorney, and close contact of the embassy, informed us on September 6 that Mr. Waree Sai Li, who writes under the pen name of Pichai or Prayapichai on several popular Thai internet web sites, was arrested on August 24 and was held without bail at Khlong Prem Remand Prison in Bangkok. Pichai was the prolific webmaster of an internet discussion group and was arrested after allegedly posting comments that some had interpreted as critical of Thailand's revered monarchy. Waree was released on bail on September 6. Our contacts could not confirm the arrest of a woman, whom other sources say was arrested at the same time and location as Pichai and under similar charges. ¶3. (SBU) According to our contact, prosecutors had considered charging Waree with lese majeste -- committing an offense against the dignity of the monarchy which carries a prison term of up to 15 years. Reportedly fearing a public outcry however, prosecutors instead opted to prosecute Waree under a section of the recently-enacted Computer Crimes Act which prescribes a punishment of a maximum five years imprisonment or a $3,000 (100,000 baht) fine for "posting false content on the Internet to hurt others and public security". Civil liberties advocates have in the past several months expressed serious concerns over ambiguous language in the new law which would appear to give the authorities broad powers to interpret and suppress content they view as a threat to the country. ¶4. (SBU) Report of the arrests first surfaced in the Financial Times on September 1 but did not appear in the Thai MEDIA until September 7 in the online edition of the English language The Nation -- the day after Waree was released on bail. While the internet community was reportedly abuzz over this incident, mainstream MEDIA has been relatively silent. Many editors and writers we spoke to had either not heard of the incident or were too uncertain of the details to make much of it. A senior member of the Webmasters Association, a private group which focuses on web rights, said that they had not heard of the arrest. Even more surprising, when we contacted the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, the proverbial internet watchdogs, they claimed to not know anything about the arrests either. ¶5. (SBU) Comment: That the first case of an arrest under the new cyber laws has made little public impact may have more to do with how journalists cover stories rather than any conspiracy to downplay this incident. We will continue monitoring arrests under the Computer Crimes Act closely and will also continue to encourage government officials to ensure enforcement of the law meets international human rights standards. End comment. BOYCE