The Human Rights Lawyer Association overseeing the case of Ampon Tangnoppakul, a 61-year-old man who passed away last year while imprisoned for lèse majesté, said it is raising funds to help Ampon’s wife with the legal fees for a lawsuit against the Department of Corrections in the Administrative Court.

 

Ampon was sentenced to 20 years for allegedly sending four SMS messages deemed lèse majesté to the secretary of former PM Abhisit Vejjajiva. Denied bail eight times, he had been imprisoned for one year in 2011 before passing away in Bangkok Remand Prison on May 8, 2012.

 

Rosmalin Tangnoppakul, wife of Ampon, believes that his death was the result of misdemeanours by prison officials in not providing proper medical care for Ampon, who already had liver cancer.  

 

During an inquest conducted by the Criminal Court last year, a witness, who was a doctor who observed the autopsy, said that no doctor was present when nurses at the prison infirmary performed an emergency recovery operation, a procedure viewed as reckless.  

 

Rosmalin filed a lawsuit requesting the Department of Corrections to pay compensation of 2,225,250 baht. Since the court on December 19 dismissed her request for a fee exemption, citing that Rosmalin’s bank account contained sufficient funds, she has to pay 44,505 baht for the legal fee by January 3, 2014.

 

Poonsuk Poonsukcharoen, Rosmalin’s lawyer, said the lawsuit against the Department of Corrections was not intended primarily for the money, or punishment of officers, but in the hope of improving the standards of healthcare in the prison infirmary.

 

The Human Rights Lawyer Association is selling 100 T-shirts at 1,000 baht each, with all income used to cover legal fees and other expenses in the case. Those who are interested in buying can get more details (in Thai) here or email [email protected]