(8 April) Editors of the Phuket-based Phuketwan news agency have been scheduled to appear before court on 17 April, after a prosecutor accepted defamation lawsuits filed by the Royal Thai Navy.

Mr. Alan Morison and Ms. Chutima Sidasathian have been accused of defaming the navy by publishing a report originally penned by Reuters which indicated that some servicemen in the Royal Thai Navy were involved in human trafficking trade of Rohingya refugees off the southern coast of Thailand. 

The article appeared on the Phuketwan website in July last year, but it was not until December  that the Royal Thai Navy pressed charges of defamation and violation of the Computer Crimes Act against the two editors.

If found guilty, the pair could face up to 7 years in prison. 

Ms. Chutima and Mr. Morison previously expressed their hope that the public prosecutor would drop the case. But Ms. Chutima told Khaosod today she has learned that the prosecutor has decided to take the case, and ordered the defendants to appear before the judges at Phuket Criminal Court on 17 April. 

According to Ms. Chutima, bail has been set at an estimated at 100,000 baht per person, which she cannot afford. "I do not have any funds set aside for bail money," Ms. Chutima said in a phone interview. "We might just end up in jail on the day we report to the court."

She added that a number of media rights groups, namely Frontline Defenders and the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand (FCCT), are organising fundraising among their members to post bail for Ms. Chutima and Mr. Morison on 17 April.

However, the editor said she received little or no help from the Thai authorities. Neither the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) nor the Thai Journalist Association (TJA) have offered their assistance in the legal procedure, Ms. Chutima told Khaosod, while her letter to the Rights and Liberty Protection Department went unanswered.

"I filed the letter to the officials in Phuket last month. I just discovered that somehow they did not forward the document to Bangkok," Ms. Chutima said, "I am shocked".  

She is also disheartened by the fact that the lawsuit against Phuketwan has received very little coverage in the Thai mainstream media.  

Rights experts have alleged that the Compter Crimes Act, which Ms. Chutima and Mr. Morison are now facing, is highly detrimental to freedom of speech in Thailand, citing it’s vague and broad definition of what could be constituted as a crime.  

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(7 April) The head of anti-government protesters' security force has disputed reports that their members have shot and wounded two soldiers on their patrol.

One sergeant and one corporal were reportedly shot at by unidentified assailants as they patrolled the area in Soi Likhit behind Wat Benchamabopit Temple on the night of 5 April, close to the campsite manned by anti-government protesters, police said.

Media reports indicate that the pair were not wearing uniforms at the time. Police said both soldiers were shot in their shoulders.

After inspecting the crime scene with forensic officers, Pol.Lt.Col. Sitthisak Nakamart said the police found one 11 mm. handgun bullet and residues of the bullet's copper jacket in the area.

According to Pol.Lt.Col. Sitthisak, witnesses told police the soldiers were a part of 5-member patrol team, and they were patrolling the road near protest campsite on motorcycle on the night of the incident. He said unidentified gunmen opened fire at the team at around 21.00, wounding them and causing them to fall from their motorcycle, while the rest of the patrol team scurried away for safety. 

Pol.Lt.Col. Sitthisak added that the wounded soldiers "are not in any condition to give testimony", and witnesses to the shooting claimed they could not clearly see the attackers, while public CCTVs in the area were somehow titled upward and unable to capture the incident. 

However, Pol.Gen. Worapong Chiewpreecha, deputy chief of the Royal Thai Police, said in a press conference that security guards employed by anti-government protesters were most likely responsible for the shooting, citing evidence gathered by the police.

"The investigation on the ballistics has pointed to the position of the NSRT," Pol.Gen. Worapong said, referring to the Network of Students and People for the Reform of Thailand, "It indicates that the demonstrators were armed. The police have previously tried to intercept these weapons by setting up checkpoints, and we must double our effort".

He also vowed to seek search warrants from the court so the police can search for any weapons inside the NSRT campsite.

But Mr. Nasser Yeehma, head of the NSRT's security guards unit, told reporters that his security team was certainly not responsible for the shooting, as the incident occurred outside the area maintained and monitored by NSRT guards. 

As a gesture of goodwill, Mr. Nasser said his representatives will send a flower basket to the wounded soldiers who are currently in hospital. Nevertheless, he voiced his suspicion over why the two soldiers were not wearing uniforms at the time. 

"Let me stress that the NSRT is rallying in peaceful manner and without any weapons," Mr. Nasser said. 

Meanwhile, Lt.Gen. Abhirat Kongsomphong, commander of the 1st Infantry Division, said he believes the soldiers were shot "due to misunderstanding", without naming anyone as the suspected perpetrators. 

Lt.Gen. Abhirak added that the army has already lodged complaints over the shooting at Dusit Police Station. 

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(7 April) The Division of Special Investigation (DSI) will seek legal action against anti-government protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban for publicly vowing to launch a "People's Coup" against the government.

DSI Chief Tharit Pengdith said officials are already transcribing the footage of the 5  of April rally organised by the People's Committee for Absolute Democracy With the King As Head of State (PCAD) in which its sec-gen, Mr. Suthep Thaugsuban, delivered a fiery speech concerning his plan to overthrow the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

Mr. Suthep has said he would install himself as a "Sovereign Body" and present his own list of Prime Minister and Cabinet members to His Majesty the King to seek his Royal Approval. The PCAD will establish unelected legislative bodies afterwards, he explained, and implement series of "reforms" in Thailand.

He called his effort a coup by the people, as opposed to coups launched by the military in the past.

According to Mr. Tharit, Mr. Suthep's speech risks violating Article 113 of the Criminal Codes, which prohibits any attempt to illegally overthrow democratic regime either by violence or by coercion.  

"It is clear that Mr. Suthep's speech to the demonstrators reveals his intention to overthrow democratic regime," Mr. Tharit explained.

He added that the remarks will be used as evidence against Mr. Suthep in the court; the protest leader is already facing a separate charge of insurgency filed by the authorities.

The DSI will consult with the Centre for Administration of Peace and Order (CAPO) to seek legal guidance on how to further prosecute Mr. Suthep for his speech, Mr. Tharit said. 

Related Story: Suthep To Seek Royal Approval For His 'People Coup'

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(6 April) Anti-government protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban has vowed to ask His Majesty the King to approve his effort to seize power from government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

Mr. Suthep delivered the comment yesterday at the People's Committee for Absolute Democracy With the King As Head of State (PCAD) rally stage in Bangkok's Lumpini Park.

At the rally, which was billed as a "big fight" against the government, Mr. Suthep outlined strategies for PCAD supporters in their campaign to remove Ms. Yingluck from her caretaker position, explaining that all PCAD local networks should gather lists of their members across the country and "wait for the day of battle".

"When I blow the whistle, all of these members must be present," Mr. Suthep told the crowd, "Bring out all the healthy people so we can embark on a prolonged fight, for at least 15 days".

Mr. Suthep said two events would be critical to the PCAD's ultimate fight against Ms. Yingluck: the conclusion of the corruption case conducted by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) on Ms. Yingluck, and the verdict by the Constitutional Court which would determine whether she violated the 2007 Constitution by removing a hostile official from the seat of National Security Council director.

If the NACC ruled that Ms. Yingluck ran afoul of corruption laws, Mr. Suthep said, the PCAD supporters should stay in their position and wait for his future orders; however, a guilty verdict by the Constitutional Court – which will automatically remove Ms Yingluck from her position – would be met by an instant mobilisation from Mr. Suthep's nationwide network.

"We will immediately march on that day!" Mr. Suthep, "We will occupy Thailand so the sovereign power shall truly belong to the people"

Mr. Suthep elaborated further that he would then install himself as the "Sovereign Body" who will wield absolute power via numerous "Revolutionary Decrees" and the adoption of a single charter provision as a legislative blank cheque – in the same manner of military dictators in 1960s, such as the notorious Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat.

"We will have something like Article 17 [of 1959 Administrative Charter] as the highest law," Mr. Suthep said, referring to the charter article which allowed Field Marshal Sarit to fight suspected Communist threats by all means, "[I] will be able to order anyone to be executed by firing squad, but I will only freeze assets".

He continued, "As a Sovereign Body who has seized power, I will have the power to appoint Prime Minister and Cabinet members at my own discretion. Then I will present this list to His Majesty the King, so that he can approve them as the People's Government".

Once His Majesty the King signed his approval for the "people's coup", Mr. Suthep said, he will proceed to appoint National Legislative Assembly and "People's Council" as two unelected legislative bodies to engage in "reforms" for Thailand.

He promises to return the power to the people once the "reforms" are completed, but warned that he would mobilise his supporters onto the streets if the government he had appointed "failed to perform its duties" as assigned by the PCAD.

Mr. Suthep's speech, which drew loud and long cheers from his supporters, is the first instance in which he clearly outlined the procedures to achieve his dubious goals of installing "People's Council" and "reforming Thailand"; Mr. Suthep and his core supporters have refused to elaborate on those terms in previous media appearances and interviews.

The remark also attracts concerns from a number of observers who fear that Mr. Suthep's plan would require His Majesty the King, who has remained largely silent on the current round of political crisis, to visibly take sides and even violate the national constitution in the process.

Furthermore, it is highly unlikely that millions of pro-government supporters in the north and northeast will quietly accept Mr. Suthep's effort to remove their elected government.

In a separate mass rally in Nakorn Pathom province yesterday, Redshirts leader Jatupon Prompan insisted that the Redshirts are willing to fight for Ms. Yingluck, and ominously warned that a "civil war" could break out of Ms. Yingluck is removed by undemocratic means.

Mr. Suthep might have already prepared for such a scenario, however. In his speech yesterday, he also urged his supporters to be ready for prolonged rally in Bangkok for over 2 weeks in order to "deter" any opponents who would march into Bangkok and challenge his status as the Sovereign Body.

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(4 April) Unidentified assailants have shot at the vehicle of an anti-government activist who heckled Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on camera last December.

Ms. Patcharanan Leeluan told police in Phetchabun province that she has parked her car at a market in Wat Camp Son Temple, Khao Kho district, before 2 assailants arrived on a black pick-up truck at around 14.00 and used iron pipes to vandalise her car.

The suspects also fired a shot at the car before fleeing the scene on the pick-up truck. However, no injury was reported.

Ms. Patcharanan was widely praised by anti-government protesters after she managed to evade security cordon around Ms. Yingluck and blew whistle at her in protest during the Prime Minister's visit to Phetchabun on 25 December last year. 

Ms. Yingluck responded by amiably offering to shake Ms. Patcharanan's hand for her effort, but the activist refused. For her "heroism", anti-government protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban presented her with a golden whistle at the rally on Ratchadamnoen Avenue in Bangkok.

Although police said it is too early to determine whether the attack on Ms. Patcharanan's car was politically motivated, other anti-government activists who had heckled former sister-in-law of Ms. Yingluck later experienced bomb attacks at their residence. 

Related Story: Citing Fear For Her Family, PCAD Activist Quits Politics

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