Former red-shirt leader Jatuporn Prompan was sentenced to five years in prison today, after being found guilty by the Criminal Court for breaching of national security by exposing a confidential Ministry of Foreign Affairs report.
According to the charge sheet, on December 17th, 2009, Jatuporn released the report, marked “top secret”, regarding the Foreign Ministry’s strategy and guidelines in dealing with Cambodia. He published it via the People’s Channel of the red-shirt movement and the disclosure put Thailand in a disadvantageous position vis-à-vis Cambodia and caused damage to the Foreign Ministry.
The disclosure of the report could also cause misunderstandings between Thailand and Cambodia, according to the charge sheet.
During the trial, Jatuporn explained in his defence that he had not intended to put national security in jeopardy and that he disclosed the report to defend himself against charges, by the then government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, that the red-shirt movement, known as the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), intended to topple the government.
The court dismissed Jatuporn’s defence, found him guilty of a breach of national security and sentenced him to five years in prison without suspension.
He was released on 250,000 baht bail pending appeal, on the grounds that he had never tried to escape before.
