The courts sided with the public Friday afternoon, ruling that Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha likely exceeded his authority by banning any news or information that could “cause fear” to the public.
After a group of media companies and human rights lawyers petitioned the court, the Civil Court issued an emergency injunction, saying Prayuth exceeded his constitutional authority to forbid such information and deny internet to perceived offenders, even if what they said was true.
The decision came a week after Prayuth issued what was the 29th order under his year-and-a-half old emergency decree. The order, published in the Royal Gazette last week, banned information that could “lead to misunderstanding and affect national security.”
Critics saw it as a desperate attempt to muzzle widespread criticism of his government’s handling of the pandemic.
The order…
