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Yahoo! My Yahoo! Mail More Yahoo! Services Account Options New User? Sign Up Sign In Help Yahoo! Search web search Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Australia China India Indonesia Japan Malaysia Philippines Thailand Vietnam Thai emergency powers raise justice, freedom fears AFP - 2 hours 3 minutes ago Send IM Story Print Thai emergency powers raise justice, freedom fears BANGKOK (AFP) - – Two weeks after turning himself in to police, political activist Somyot Pruksakasemsuk is being held without charge at a Thai army base -- one of hundreds of people jailed over "Red Shirt" street protests. Their detention has dismayed human rights campaigners, who say the government's use of a state of emergency across one third of the country, including Bangkok, lacks transparency and violates freedom of expression. The Netherlands-based Clean Clothes Campaign, spearheading the call for Somyot's release, says it is "seriously concerned" for the health and safety of the labour- and rights advocate, believed to be in solitary confinement. Somyot, the editor of a magazine that supports the "Red Shirts", held a news conference on May 21 at which he called on Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to resign and vowed to continue the opposition movement's struggle. A day later, an arrest warrant was issued for him under the emergency rule. "There is no charge against him. He is only suspected of causing violence or chaos," Somyot's lawyer Krisdang Nutjaras told AFP. The Red Shirts' rally, broken up on May 19 by a military assault on their huge encampment in the heart of Bangkok, sparked outbreaks of violence that left 89 people dead, mostly civilians, and nearly 1,900 injured. Critics say the government may be fanning the crisis as it uses sweeping emergency powers to clamp down on and censor the protest movement -- which was calling for immediate elections -- rather than addressing its grievances. "We're concerned about the chilling effect on society and on freedom of expression," said Benjamin Zawacki, Amnesty International's Southeast Asia researcher. "We're concerned the political space has been closed down." Abhisit declared a state of emergency in the protest-hit capital on April 7, banning public gatherings of more than five people and giving broad powers to the police and military. While the rally has ended, the strict measures remain. Determined to weed out the extremists, including those who ended their rally with an onslaught of arson and looting, authorities have jailed more than 300 suspects, the justice ministry told AFP, without elaborating. Leading rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) has written to Abhisit demanding a full list of names, numbers, locations and conditions of the detainees, who can be held for 30 days without charge under emergency rule. "The public has been kept in the dark about the arrests and detention," said Sunai Phasuk, a Thai analyst at HRW. "The arrests may potentially force the Red Shirts underground and radicalise them." There are even greater concerns about censorship powers wielded under the emergency decree, which have blocked "Red Shirt" TV channels and community radio stations as well as more than 1,000 websites deemed provocative. "We think it's really over-the-top. They're shutting down anything that has a tint of red," said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at HRW. "We recognise very clearly that there are websites inciting violence and they should have the government's attention, but they are going much further than that," he added. A climate is now developing in which people are increasingly afraid to speak or write their mind, according to Supinya Klangnarong, coordinator of the Thai Netizen Network, which campaigns for "cyber freedom". A 24-hour hotline has been set up by the government enabling citizens to report suspicious websites. "There is the phenomenon of witch-hunting. If I post something against the government I can be bombarded by a lot of government sympathisers," Supinya said. Thailand expert Michael Montesano, from the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, said the hardline approach was partly linked to fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who is wanted on terrorism charges. Thaksin, who himself restricted media and free speech before his ouster in a 2006 coup, has often used new media to address his many Red Shirt followers and is accused by the government of financing the protests and inciting unrest. "There is general government panic over, and fear of, Thaksin's influence," Montesano said. 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