By Panu Wongcha-um
BANGKOK (Reuters) – A Thai court ordered a major government enemy to remove charges on social media that state policy on coronavirus vaccines is opaque and unfairly favors a company of the king, the government said on Sunday.
However, the Progressive Movement by opposition politician Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit denied that the videos were illegal and urged YouTube and Facebook to preserve freedom of expression.
The clips can still be seen on Sunday night.
Thailand’s Digital Ministry said the Criminal Court ruled that Thanathorn’s posts on social media and on his movement’s website could violate national security.
The videos accuse Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha’s government of lack of transparency in allowing Siam Bioscience, which is owned by King Maha Vajiralongkorn, to provide the majority of doses, despite a lack of experience with vaccines.
Critics say former junta leader Prayuth rigged a vote in the 2019 elections to retain power – an accusation he denies – and broke a national taboo by increasingly criticizing the monarchy.
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Siam Bioscience received a 600 million baht ($ 20 million) grant to develop the capacity to manufacture AstraZeneca vaccines domestically and in Southeast Asia.
The court did not comment when contacted by Reuters.
The Thanathorn movement said it did not receive the decision. “We continue to emphasize that the content is not fake or a threat to national security,” tweeted Pannika Wanich, a prominent member of the Progressive Movement.
“We hope that YouTube and Facebook will defend rights and freedom of expression.”
Thanathorn was banned from politics for 10 years after a court dissolved his previous Future Forward Party last year because of loans considered illegal. He denied the charges.
Now, the government has filed a lawsuit against him via video, accusing him of insulting royalty, a charge punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
The government says that the manufacture of Siam Bioscience is on its way to deliver a first batch of 61 million doses to the public by June.
There were no immediate comments from Thanathorn or Siam Bioscience about the court’s decision. The palace traditionally does not comment on political disputes.
Relatively unscathed by COVID-19, Thailand reported 829 new cases of coronavirus on Sunday, bringing the total to 18,782 cases and 77 deaths since the outbreak began last January.
(This story corrects the 2019 election date of last year in the sixth paragraph)
(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Frances Kerry)