Academic threatened with lese majeste charges

Somsak Jeamtheerasakul, a staunch critic of the monarchy, has been threatened with lese majeste charges.  He and other academics will hold a press conference tomorrow at Thammasat University.

The press conference will be held at LT 1 room, Faculty of Law, Tha Prachan campus, April 24, 2011, at 2 pm. 

Somsak, a well known critic of the monarchy, has produced a number of critiques on issues concerning the institution.

His Facebook page had 5,000 friends, until it was recently deactivated by himself.

He was one of the speakers at a public forum on the monarchy, constitution and democracy held by the Nitirassadorn, a group of Thammasat law lecturers, on 10 Dec 2010.

Source: 
<p>http://www.prachatai3.info/journal/2011/04/34188</p>

Since 2007, Prachatai English has been covering underreported issues in Thailand, especially about democratization and human rights, despite the risk and pressure from the law and the authorities. However, with only 2 full-time reporters and increasing annual operating costs, keeping our work going is a challenge. Your support will ensure we stay a professional media source and be able to expand our team to meet the challenges and deliver timely and in-depth reporting.

• Simple steps to support Prachatai English

1. Bank transfer to account “โครงการหนังสือพิมพ์อินเทอร์เน็ต ประชาไท” or “Prachatai Online Newspaper” 091-0-21689-4, Krungthai Bank

2. Or, Transfer money via Paypal, to e-mail address: [email protected], please leave a comment on the transaction as “For Prachatai English”