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Thai activists accused of insulting monarchy 'disappear' in Vietnam

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Thai activists accused of insulting monarchy 'disappear' in Vietnam





Deputy prime minister denies reports that Thailand is holding the three activists in custody







King Maha Vajiralongkorn

 King Maha Vajiralongkorn. Thailand’s criminal code says anyone who insults the king, queen, heir or regent faces up to 15 years in prison. Photograph: Rungroj Yongrit/EPA




Three Thai activists facing charges of insulting the monarchy have disappeared after reportedly being arrested in Vietnam, rights groups said, months after two exiled critics of the military and monarchy died.


Thailand’s deputy prime minister, Prawit Wongsuwan, denied the activists were in Thai custody, as has been reported by the Thai Alliance for Human Rights.


Chucheep Chiwasut, who broadcasts political commentary to Thailand from exile, and fellow activists Siam Theerawut and Kritsana Thapthai were reportedly turned over to Thai authorities by Vietnam on 8 May, Human Rights Watch said in a statement.


“Vietnam’s alleged secret forced return to Thailand of three prominent activists should set off alarm bells in the international community,” Brad Adams, the director of Human Rights Watch Asia, said.


London-based Amnesty International said Chucheep had long faced charges of lese-majesty, or insulting the monarchy. Siam and Kritsana were also under police investigation for lese-majesty, the rights group said.


Article 112 of Thailand’s criminal code says anyone who insults the king, queen, heir or regent faces punishment of up to 15 years in prison.


Human rights groups have accused the ruling military of applying the law more widely since a 2014 military coup as a way to silence critics.


Separately on Friday, a former law student was released from jail a month before the end of his two-and-a-half-year sentence for a 2017 lese-majesty conviction.


Jatupat Boonpattaraksa, an activist and critic of the ruling junta, was jailed for posting a profile of King Maha Vajiralongkorn published by the BBC’s Thai-language service that was deemed offensive. His release was part of a royal amnesty for thousands of prisoners to mark the king’s coronation this week.


The US-based Thai Alliance for Human Rights first reported that Chucheep, also known as Uncle Sanam Luang, had been sent back to Thailand.


“Uncle Sanam Luang and two others were apprehended … a month ago. But they were just transferred to Thailand on 8 May from Vietnam,” Piangdin Rakthai of the alliance said in a YouTube video.


Prawit denied the report. “Vietnam has not coordinated transfers. We have not received any request. If there is, it would be through the foreign ministry and police,” he told reporters.


In January, the bodies of two exiled critics of the military and royal family, Chatcharn Buppawan, 56, and Kraidej Luelert, 46, were found along the Mekong River border with Laos. Their bodies had been stuffed with concrete, apparently to make them sink.


The military said at the time it had no information about the deaths.


The activist Surachai Danwattananusorn, 78, who ran an online radio station from Laos critical of the junta and monarchy, disappeared in December. His whereabouts are not known.


“We are worried about the situation,” Piangdin said in a video. “There have been disappearances and deaths of political activists who are against the military government and criticise the monarchy.”


The Guardian


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