Thailand
Court continues to keep editor in custodyPosted Nov 8 2011
The Bangkok criminal court rejected a request to release the Voice of Thaksin editor on bail on Nov. 2, according to an article by Reporters Without Borders. The government has held editor Somyos Prueksakasemsuk since his April 30 arrest.
Prueksakasemsuk, a member of the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship or “Red Shirts,” was charged on July 26 for refusing to identify the author of two anti-government Voice of Thaksin letters, an offense that could earn him a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, Reporters Without Borders wrote.
The crimes against the sovereign power, dubbed Lèse-majesté, have been used to detain dissident journalists and activists in Thailand, Reporters Without Borders said. About 20 of those in opposition have been accused of lèse-majesté in less than a month since the law was enacted.
Prueksakasemsuk ‘s magazine was banned in 2010 and replaced by Red Power, according to Reporters Without Borders.