Author sues censor
Sulak Sivaraksa, author of the banned book ‘Almost a Century of Thorn-filled Thai Democracy’, has lodged (via) a court case against the Special Branch Police Commander and the Interior Minister at the Central Administrative Court.
On Oct 1, 2007, Pol Maj Gen Sombat Suphajiva acting as printing authority issued Order 5/2007 banning Sulak’s book that criticizes Thailand’s democracy, alleging that the material ‘may cause unrest and degrade good morals’ in Thai society. Copies of the book have been confiscated by the police since.
Sulak appealed to Interior Minister Gen Surayud Chulanont on Oct 8, 2007, and never received a response. So he decided to ask the Administrative Court to lift the ban order and have the defendants pay him damages of 1,094,000 baht with an annual interest rate of 7.5% starting from the date of prosecution.
According to Sulak, the Special Branch Police had illegitimately and unlawfully issued the order to ban and confiscate his book - which was published in April 2007 - without providing any supporting evidence.
Sulak is also asking the Central Administrative Court to forward the case to the Constitution Court to issue a ruling on whether the authority of the Special Branch - under Article 9 of the 1941 Printing Act - to ban and seize books infringes on article 45 of the countrys 2007 Constitution.
Sunday 20 Jan 2008 | Paul | Thailand
