President Obama’s State Department, on the same day that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave a speech defining internet freedom as a human right, said that the imprisonment of an American citizen in Thailand who was convicted of insulting the Thai king online won’t “adversely” impact U.S.-Thai relations.
“We don’t see [the imprisonment] adversely affecting the overall relationship” between Thailand and the United States, said State Department spokesperson Mark Toner on Thursday. “We are candid when we have concerns about freedom of expression and human rights concerns. And of course, this involves an American citizen, which makes it even more important. But we don’t see it adversely affecting the overall relationship.”
Joe Gordon, a Thai-born American citizen, was sentenced Thursday to two-and-a-half years in jail for translating and posting online portions of a banned biography of the Thai King. He posted the material while living in Colorado several years ago.
Clinton, speaking about internet freedom before The Hague on Thursday, criticized Russia, China, Syria, and Iran for human rights abuses related to internet censorship. “The right to express one’s views, practice one’s faith, peacefully assemble with others to pursue political or social change,” Clinton maintained, “these are all rights to which all human beings are entitled whether they choose to exercise them in a city square or an internet chat room.” She did not rebuke Thailand or mention the arrest and sentencing of Joe Gordon.
“The United States strongly supports freedom of expression around the world,” Toner told reporters Thursday. He added that “we’ve conveyed our views about the case to the Thai authorities and are in the process of offering whatever assistance we can to [Gordon’s] family.”
