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BBC ‘willing to cooperate’ in activist’s lese majeste case
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A Thai Buddhist monk walks past portraits of Thailand's newly appointed King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun in Bangkok, Thailand. Friday, Dec. 2, 2016. (AP/Sakchai Lalit)
T
he British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is willing to cooperate with police in their investigation of a royal defamation case against a student activist who is charged with sharing a Thai-language article about the monarchy, a source at the Bangkok office of the UK-based media outlet said.
The BBC’s local office has not received any notification from the police or government agencies regarding an investigation into the lese majeste case, said the source, who sought anonymity.
“If they [authorities] send an official letter or ask for cooperation, we hope to establish cooperation with them,” the source told The Nation on Wednesday.
(Read also: Thai PM warns media of action ‘without exception’)
Investigators from the Royal Thai Police’s Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) visited BBC’s Thai office in Bangkok on Tuesday and found it was closed.
The source said that BBC’s Thai staff members normally work remotely and rarely come to the office.
The news agency would probably reach out to the authorities to make its position clear on the matter if it does not hear from the officials, the source added.
The controversial article widely shared on social media was translated from the original English version and published from the UK, the source said. None of BBC’s Thailand-based staff members were involved in the article and the agency stood by its employees’ rights, the source added.
Chatupat Bunpat-taraksa, more commonly known as 'Pai Dao Din,' a student activist based in Khon Kaen, is charged with breaching Article 112 of the Penal Code on lese majeste and the Computer Crime Act. He has been released on bail.
“If the police want to interrogate the concerned staff, they have to contact those based in the UK. Any police move against BBC’s Thai office would make the staff panic for no reason,” the source said.
Meanwhile, Pol Maj-General Chayapon Chatchaidej, acting chief of the Special Branch Police Division 4, had said Wednesday that the Khon Kaen police station was investigating the case in collaboration with the TCSD.
“The Khon Kaen investigators are collecting evidence. They also need help from the TCSD and certain organizations in areas that are beyond their capacity,” he said, referring to the TCSD’s visit to BBC’s Bangkok office.
If the investigators find sufficient evidence, they would press charges against the wrongdoers, he said.
A source at the British Embassy said it had not been notified of any moves by the Thai government against BBC’s Thai office.
Earlier, a junta spokesperson had remarked that the government would “issue a letter” to the embassy.
