BANGKOK — A cabinet member of the former government could face up to 14 years in prison for the press conference he gave to foreign correspondents prior to his arrest.

Chaturon Chaisang, who served as Education Minister in the previous government, was summoned by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) shortly after it staged a coup on 22 May. 

Mr. Chaturon initially refused to surrender himself and went into hiding. Five days later, he staged a press conference at the Thailand's Foreign Correspondent Club (FCCT) in Bangkok to announce that he was willing to turn himself in. 

Soldiers stormed the club and detained Mr. Chaturon as he was giving an interview to more than 100 foreign reporters. He was sent to martial court to face charges of defying the NCPO's summons order and inciting unrest, after which he was released on bail.

But at a second court hearing today Mr. Chaturon was informed that he will also be charged with violating the Computer Crimes Act. 

Mr. Chaturon told reporters that his prosecutors claimed he violated Section 14.3 of the Computer Crime Act, which criminalises “the input, into a computer system, of any computer data that is an offence related to national security or an offence related to terrorism.”

According to Mr. Chaturon, the prosecution argued that his speech at the FCCT, which he typed and distributed to the foreign press, constituted a violation of the Computer Crimes Act. His speech criticized the coup and called for an immediate return to democracy.

The three charges could amount to a maximum of 14 years in prison, Mr. Chaturon said.

"They only told me about the charge of the Computer Crimes Act 15 minutes before the hearing," Mr. Chaturon said. "I am very surprised and suspicious about this irregularity. I wonder if they intended to use it as an excuse for more witness examination so they could ask for the power to detain me."

However, the court rejected prosecutors' request to detain Mr. Chaturon for questioning and renewed the former minister’s release on bail.

Mr. Chaturon insisted that he would fight his case to the very end.

"This is the first case in 30 years of a civilian being tried in a military court for having different opinions, " said Mr. Chaturon, a former student activist who watched fellow activists stand trials in military court in late 1970s. 

He also insisted that he would continue to use his limited freedom during his bail release to develop and propose ideas for Thailand's democracy. 

"I am thinking and reading a lot at the moment, because I can't meet with anyone," Mr. Chaturon said. "When it is appropriate, I will present my ideas. As for now, I would like to comment that in order to have democracy, reforms, and reconciliation, many sides must be able to participate in the process."

The NCPO  is currently pursuing a heavy-handed campaign to bring about reconciliation, reform, and "happiness" to Thai society. To accomplish these ambitious goals, the junta has formed "reconciliation centres" for dialogues between rival political groups, established a reform committee, and staged free fairs and concerts around the country. 

The campaign has been accompanied by the NCPO's harsh crackdown on any voices of dissent. Since it seized power from the elected government last month, the military junta has summoned and detained hundreds of individuals, censored the press, banned public protests, and threatened to punish anyone who critises the junta's mission. 

Despite the junta's ban on public gatherings, moer than 100 people showed up at the military court to express their support for Mr. Chaturon this morning. 

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PHNOM PENH (DPA) — Human Rights Watch on Friday strongly criticised the Thai military junta, saying it caused over 200,000 Cambodian migrant workers to flee the country in the past two weeks.

The junta, which took over in a coup on May 22, denied there was a crackdown on migrants, despite having earlier announced that illegal migrant workers would be arrested and deported.

"The Thai junta's new regulations have caused a massive flight of migrant workers, who have long endured abuses from officials and unscrupulous employers," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, a US-based organization.

"The junta needs to reverse this disaster by quickly putting into place genuine reforms that would protect migrant workers' rights, not threaten them."

The huge exodus of workers initially caused chaotic scenes at the Thai-Cambodia border crossing of Poipet, but rights workers there say the situation is now under control, with food and water supplies available as well as transportation to take the workers back to their home provinces.

On Tuesday, Cambodia's Interior Minister Sar Kheng placed the blame for the situation squarely on the Thai regime, saying: "I think the current Thai junta leader must be responsible for the problems happening, including loss of lives."

At least eight Cambodians migrants died in crashes en route to the border.

"Migrant workers make huge contributions to Thailand's economy, but their daily life is unsafe and uncertain, and they face abuses from many quarters," Adams said.

"If the military authorities are serious about rights-respecting reforms in the way Thailand handles migrant workers, they should prosecute those who abuse migrants and get rid of discriminatory regulations that violate migrant workers' rights."

There are an estimated 400,000 Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand.

By Cod Satrusayang

BANGKOK (DPA) — Thai officials are bracing themselves for a possible downgrade when the US State Department releases its annual human Trafficking in Persons report (TIP) this week.

For the past year the country has been on the watch list of Tier 2, and a downgrade to Tier 3 would see it join the likes of Syria, Cuba and Iran in the lowest category.

"We definitely come very close to Tier 3 and serious discussion must have taken place [on where] to rate Thailand" in the upcoming report, said Fuadi Pitsuwan, a fellow at Harvard University's Asia Center, and a Thai native.

"In comparison to its neighbours, the trafficking situation is not as bad," he said. "But the US expects more from Thailand as its oldest ally in Asia and as once a bastion of democracy in Asia."

Thai officials have insisted that the country has more than met the minimum requirements to maintain Tier 2 status.

"Thailand's demonstrated awareness, cooperation and progress in combating human trafficking in 2013 clearly exceeds the US State Department's criteria for an upgrade on the 2014 TIP Report," said Thailand's Ambassador to the United States Vijvat Isarabhakdi.The Foreign Ministry insists that the government has been working with various NGOs and rights groups to combat human trafficking, calling it "one of the worst forms of human indignity."

In a separate meeting with the US ambassador, Thailand's acting foreign minister stressed that the country places "great importance on combatting and eradicating human trafficking."

He said this year's rise in reported trafficking cases demonstrated authorities' determination to tackle the issue.

The TIP report will come just over a week after Thailand was the only country to briefly vote against a motion that would enforce the International Labour Organization's convention against slave labour.

The Foreign Ministry defended its decision by saying that before supporting the adoption of "any specific instrument, Thailand has to seriously consider her own readiness to implement such an instrument, in conformity with relevant Thai laws."

The reaction from NGOs and rights groups was harsh, with the executive director of the Environmental Justice Foundation calling the decision an "absolute disgrace and one that brings further shame onto an already embattled government."

"It also fuels the suspicion that much of Thailand's public statements regarding its commitment to tackling forced labour amount to little more than a PR exercise."

Thailand subsequently rescinded its abstention and voted in favour of the protocol.

The country was also in the crosshairs of a report in Britain's Guardian newspaper last week that said Thailand's shrimp farmers were buying feed made from fish caught using forced labour.

The Guardian report said "large numbers of men [are] bought and sold like animals and held against their will on fishing boats off Thailand."

Many were illegal migrants from neighbouring countries hoping for jobs in plantations or factories, but who stumbled into the clutches of brokers who sold them to the boat operators, it said.

Human Rights Watch wrote to US Secretary of State John Kerry recommending that Thailand be downgraded to Tier 3.

"The Government of Thailand does not meet the minimum standards of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, nor is it taking real steps to meet those standards," the group said in an open letter.

HRW cited irregularities within the seafood industry in Thailand as well as the detention and reported trafficking of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar by Thai security forces as a basis for its recommendation.

If Thailand is downgraded to the lowest tier it may face economic sanctions and the withdrawal of aid funds.

Multinational companies will also be encouraged to stop trading in industries where forced labour may play a role.