Civil and political rights

Freedom of expression

Lao court jails Polish activist following online criticism of Government

A court in Laos has sentenced a Polish activist to nearly five years in prison after he posted criticism of the Lao government online, according to state media, drawing criticism from a diplomatic official who said the defendant was never given access to an attorney. Keep reading ...

Thai govt websites crash in symbolic act by critics: officials

Several Thai government websites temporarily crashed due to a “symbolic act” by people against plans to introduce a single Internet gateway, officials said on 1 October, a measure critics say will make it easier for the ruling junta to censor the web. Keep reading ...

Government internet gateway plan sparks fury

Activists campaigning for internet freedom have slammed the government’s recent move to develop a single internet gateway to expand state control over online media. Last week, citizens learned of the government’s intention to build a single gateway, after it ordered the Ministry of Information and Communication ...

Junta mulls 'Great Firewall' for Thailand

Thailand’s junta is facing growing opposition over plans to introduce a single Internet gateway for the country to make it easier to monitor the web and block content. Tens of thousands of people have signed a petition against the proposal, which has been dubbed the “Great ...

Thailand printers withhold NY Times edition over king article

The New York Times has said that its local printer in Thailand has refused to print its Asia edition because it featured an article on the ailing king. The paper said the printer found the front-page article “too sensitive”. The entire newspaper for 22 September, however, can ...

Top cop says no capacity to convict

A high-ranking police official yesterday bemoaned Cambodia’s lack of capacity to fight cybercrime, just a week after the government’s announcement of a new Anti-Cybercrime Department prompted fears of an online clampdown on dissent.  Keep reading ...

Thai junta 'invites' then detains journalist

Thailand’s junta has detained a senior newspaper reporter and columnist, his paper says, the latest in a string of arrests targeting those who speak out against the government. Thepchai Yong, the editor-in-chief of the English-language Nation, said “there is no justification whatsoever” for Pravit Rojanaphruk’s detention. Keep ...

Lao authorities threaten to jail Christians for practising their religion

Local authorities in two villages in a central Lao province have violated the rights of Christians by threatening to jail those who continue to practice their religion after banning their activities last month, a source inside the country said.   Authorities from the villages of Nhang ...

UK academic held at Thai airport

A UK academic has spent the last four days in detention at an airport in Thailand over a dispute arising from a UN report he wrote nine years ago. Agricultural consultant Wyn Ellis was stopped at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport and told he had been reported as ...

Media bill 'should exclude newspapers'

Newspapers should be exempt from possible media curbs under the media reform bill drafted by the National Reform Council and submitted to the cabinet on 1 September, a forum was told on 2 September.  Keep reading ...

Contact us

Contact us

Do you have questions on the content published by Open Development Mekong? We will gladly help you.

Have you found a technical problem or issue on the Open Development Mekong website?

Tell us how we're doing.

Do you have resources that could help expand the Open Development Mekong website? We will review any map data, laws, articles, and documents that we do not yet have and see if we can implement them into our site. Please make sure the resources are in the public domain or fall under a Creative Commons license.

File was deleted
ERROR!

Disclaimer: Open Development Mekong will thoroughly review all submitted resources for integrity and relevancy before the resources are hosted. All hosted resources will be in the public domain, or licensed under Creative Commons. We thank you for your support.

JB83A
* The idea box couldn't be blank! Something's gone wrong, Please Resubmit the form! Please add the code correctly​ first.

Thank you for taking the time to get in contact!