Thailand needs to eliminate and/or reform laws that jail people convicted of insulting the country’s royal family, according to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Office (OHCHR). The Office states that such laws are having a chilling effect on freedom of expression. Violation of Thailand’s International Human Rights Obligations: Thailand’s laws of lèse majesté subject anyone deemed to have defamed, insulted or threatened the King and several other senior royals to imprisonment for up to 15 years. “Such harsh criminal sanctions are neither necessary nor proportionate and violate the country’s international human rights obligations,” said Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for Navi Pillay and the OHCHR. Thai authorities also may be abusing and/or employing pretrial detention as punishment - police and prosecutors arrest and charge people “under these vaguely worded laws. In addition to the disproportionate prison sentences being handed down by the courts, we are also concerned about the extended periods that accused persons are being held in pre-trial detention.” Application to Social Media: In October, Frank La Rue, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, also spoke out over the lèse majesté laws, saying their vagueness breached international treaties. Earlier this month, according to media reports, a man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for sending four text messages to a government aide that were deemed to be insulting to the Thai queen. Most recently an American citizen was sentenced to more than 2 years for linking to a “banned” biography of the King. The Thai penal code and the Computer Crimes Act do not meet these criteria,” said Mr. La Rue, who acts in an independent, unpaid capacity and reports to the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council. “The laws are vague and overly broad, and the harsh criminal sanctions are neither necessary nor proportionate to protect the monarchy or national security.” He voiced concern that the Computer Crimes Act had been used by the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, in cooperation with the army, to reportedly block hundreds of thousands of websites containing commentary on the Thai monarchy, and noted that countries had also raised concerns during the Council’s universal periodic review of Thailand on Friday. (Read: “Thailand Criminal Laws Overreach” - diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/blog_post/thailand-criminal-laws-overreach-by-ambassador-mo/36215 By Ambassador Muhamed Sacirbey Facebook = Become a Fan at “Diplomatically Incorrect” Twitter – Follow us at DiplomaticallyX War Crimes Justice Channel - diplomaticallyincorrect.org/c/war-crimes-justice