Pai Dao Din’s parents demand apology
The parents of activist Jatupat Boonpattararaksa, or Pai Dao Din, have called for a formal apology from the Thai ambassador to Seoul after he wrote to the Korean foundation protesting against Mr Jatupat’s award for human rights.
In a letter to the minister of foreign affairs, Prim and Wiboon Boonpattararaksa asked the ministry to instruct ambassador Sarun Charoensuwan to issue a formal apology and reissue a letter to the chairman of the May 18 Memorial Foundation, which awarded Mr Jatupat the 2017 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights.
The letter was yesterday handed to the MFA’s director of the general affairs division Nukun Sihsobhon by Eakpant Pindavanija, director of the Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies at Mahidol University, which nominated Jatupat for the prize.
His parents are currently in Gwangju representing Mr Jatupat to receive the award, which includes a US$50,000 (1.7 million baht) cash prize. Mr Jatupat has been in jail in Khon Kaen on lese majeste and computer crime charges since December.
Ms Prim and Mr Wiboon wrote the ambassador should apologise for the claim that Mr Jatupat had violated Thai laws, since there has not been a verdict nor a trial in court.
They also said it was not for him to claim that the activist repeatedly committed actions that violated the conditions of his bail.
The accusation that Mr Jatupat had posted critical Facebook messages against the will of the state that resulted in the revocation of his bail was not true as it had never been a bail condition in the first place, the letter said.
The couple’s letter also rebutted the ambassador’s message that Thailand supports freedom of expression. If the ambassador fails to apologise, the couple said the family would exercise their legal rights to protect Mr Jatupat’s dignity and reputation.
In the letter dated May 2, the ambassador wrote: “I would like to take the opportunity to point out that Mr Boonpattararaksa has committed actions in violation of the law.
‘’He is detained on charges of violations against Section 112 [lese majeste] of the Criminal Code and the Computer Crime Act,” it read.
“Mr Boonpattararaksa was granted bail very early in his arrest. However, the bail was revoked as he was repeating his offence.
‘’Thailand supports and highly values freedom of expression, association and assembly. However, these rights are not absolute and should be exercised within the boundary of the law,’’ the letter said.