Thailand Archives - Committee to Protect Journalists

Thai columnist Pravit Rojanaphruk raises his hands, stained by ink from being fingerprinted, at the Royal Thai Police's Technology Crime Suppression Division in Bangkok, August 8, 2017. (Pravit Rojanaphruk)

Thai columnist Pravit Rojanaphruk charged with two cases of sedition

August 8, 2017 12:01 PM EDT

Washington, D.C., August 8, 2017–Thai authorities should immediately and unconditionally drop all charges against Pravit Rojanaphruk, a columnist at the news website Khaosod English, and allow the journalist to work freely and without further harassment, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Pravit Rojanaphruk stands outside the Bangkok military base where he had been summoned on May 25, 2014. (AFP)

Pravit Rojanaphruk, CPJ honoree, accused of sedition in Thailand

August 3, 2017 12:28 PM EDT

New York, August 3, 2017–Authorities in Thailand should cease harassing Pravit Rojanaphruk and should drop any criminal proceedings against him for his writing, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Pravit, a columnist at Khaosod English who will be honored with CPJ’s International Press Freedom Award this year, told CPJ that he learned late on…

Police patrol Bangkok's main airport, December 23, 2016. (Athit Perawongmetha)

Journalists arrested at Bangkok airport for carrying safety equipment

May 30, 2017 11:40 AM EDT

Bangkok, May 30, 2017–Thai authorities should drop all charges against two journalists arrested at Bangkok’s main airport today for carrying protective gear and should amend laws to allow journalists to carry potentially lifesaving, protective equipment, the Committee to Protect Journalists said.

In this October 2, 2016, file photo, a small bronze plaque commemorating Thailand's 1932 revolution rests in the pavement of the Royal Plaza in Bangkok, Thailand. In early April, the plaque was mysteriously removed by parties unknown and substituted with one praising the Chakri Dynasty, whose 10th king took the throne in December 2016. The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand accepted a police request that it cancel a panel discussion on the removal of the plaque commemorating the end the country's absolute monarchy in 1932. (AP Photo/Apichart Khunnawatbandit)

Thailand bans foreign correspondents club event, citing ‘national security’

May 3, 2017 10:56 AM EDT

Bangkok, May 3, 2017–Thailand’s ruling military junta banned a panel discussion event scheduled for today by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand, marking the latest act of harassment against the club under military rule.

A military officer watches a television screen showing Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun speaking after he accepted an invitation from parliament to succeed his late father at the Dusit Palace in Bangkok, Thailand, December 1, 2016. (Reuters/Athit Perawongmetha)

TV news channel suspended in Thailand

March 27, 2017 11:36 AM EDT

Bangkok, March 27, 2017–Thai media regulators should immediately reverse their suspension of the operating license of Voice TV and should allow the media to broadcast and publish freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Media regulators today suspended the channel’s operating license for seven days.

Defamation suit in Thailand restricts BBC reporter’s freedom of movement

February 28, 2017 1:48 PM EST

Bangkok, February 28, 2017–A court in Thailand has seized the passport of BBC reporter Jonathan Head in response to a criminal defamation suit filed by a Thai lawyer over a news report on alleged fraud committed on the tourist island of Phuket. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the restrictions on the reporter’s freedom of…

CPJ concerned about proposed media controls in Thailand

February 3, 2017 11:27 AM EST

CPJ urges Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha to reject new legislation increasing government control over the media, and to repeal previous decrees expanding state control of the media.