Prosecutors Mull Indictment Over Future Forward Cybercrime Case

Future Forward Party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, center, arrives at the Office of the Attorney General Wednesday in Bangkok.
Future Forward Party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, center, arrives at the Office of the Attorney General Wednesday in Bangkok.

BANGKOK — Prosecutors on Wednesday accepted a cybercrime case against Future Forward Party leader.

Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit and two senior party members went to the Office of the Attorney General today over their online criticism of the junta last year. Prosecutors accepted the case from investigators and scheduled the first hearing for March 26, two days after Election Day.

The office said it would announce that day whether to indict them over the case.

Read: Case Over Future Forward’s Junta Criticism Goes Forward

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The three were charged with “spreading false information online” on two separate cases in June involving the livestream video “Return Friday to the People” on the party’s Facebook page and Thanathorn’s criticism written on his own profile.

Thanathorn thanked his supporters and said the party would continue to campaign in an online post.

“Thank you for all of your support. From today on, the Future Forward Party and I will still fully commit to our work. However, I believe what happened won’t be the last obstacle to throw us off our game,” he wrote on Twitter.

The party has also recently been under fire after it was revealed that its website published wrong information under Thanathorn’s profile, saying he was a chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries while he was in fact a chairman of a provincial branch in Nakhon Nayok.

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The party spokeswoman said it corrected the profile within hours of being notified, adding that it was an honest mistake. A complaint later filed in early March to the Election Commission over the issue was later dismissed.

Thanathorn once served on the board of Matichon Group, which owns Khaosod English.

Update: This story has been updated with the disposition of a complaint against party leader Thanathorn over his online biography.