Free at last: The public prosecutor has officially withdrawn the criminal defamation charges filed by Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc) against three civil rights leaders who wrote a book on torture in the deep South. The three were charged with criminal defamation and violations of the Computer Crime Act. The cover was starkly titled Torture, but the full name of their carefully documented report was "Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment in the Deep South documented in 2014-2015". The book described in sometimes gruesome detail the torture of 54 Thais detained by the army and police. He also criticised the criminal defamation law, which permits anyone to bring libel and slander charges, prosecuted by the government with penalties including prison and heavy fines.

Source: Bangkok Post November 01, 2017 18:56 UTC