Wife of UK-based journalist released after questioning

Wife of UK-based journalist released after questioning

Noppawan Banluesilp is escorted to the Crime Suppression Division headquarters in Bangkok for questioning on Friday. (Photo by Wassayos Ngamkham)
Noppawan Banluesilp is escorted to the Crime Suppression Division headquarters in Bangkok for questioning on Friday. (Photo by Wassayos Ngamkham)

Police have released the wife of Scottish journalist Andrew MacGregor Marshall after detaining her for questioning for at least four hours on Friday.

Mr Marshall confirmed the news on his Facebook around 3pm. "This is very encouraging news but I remain very concerned that she has faced this ordeal. She is innocent and plays no part in my journalism."

Noppawan Bunluesilp was seen carrying their three-year-old son and escorted by police to the Crime Suppression Division headquarters in Bangkok Friday morning for questioning after searching her Thon Buri house.

They seized from her house a notebook computer, an iPad, some flash drives, passports and other documents.

The move followed Mr Marshall's Facebook posts on Thursday showing the photos from and a link to a story related to the monarchy in a German tabloid.

On Friday morning the link to the page was blocked in Thailand for carrying "inappropriate content". It was back online in the afternoon. 

Pol Lt Gen Thitirat Nonghanpitak, commissioner of the Central Investigation Bureau, said Mr Marshall had disseminated photos deemed insulting the institution for years and these shared photos were doctored. 

Miss Noppawan, a former Reuters reporter, said she had known Mr Marshall for a decade and they had a child. She had tried in vain to convince her husband to change his behaviour and she had nothing to do with his posts. She last saw her husband three months ago.

According to his Facebook location, Mr Marshall is in Hong Kong at the moment.

Pol Lt Gen Thitirat said Mr Marshall, together with two Thais, produced pictures and disseminated misinformation via social media and the investigation found that about 30 people were involved, the commissioner said.

He also claimed Mr Marshall and Ms Noppawan had visited a neighbouring country to join in activities of this group and police would further investigate it, he said.

The police general also insisted there really was a movement to topple the monarchy. It involved people living abroad and some Thais.

"Locally, there are two groups of supporters -- those who click to view such content and those who share it through a computer network," he said. 

Mr Marshall issued a statement on Facebook shortly after his wife was detained, asking authorities to seek his extradition through legal channels instead of taking his wife and son.

"My wife Noppawan 'Ploy' Bunluesilp, 38, has worked as a journalist for Reuters and NBC. She is currently not working, and was visiting Bangkok with our son Charlie, who is 3. Ploy has never been involved in my journalism, I have always ensured that I work completely independently of her, both because of the risks and because she has her own views on Thai politics and does not share mine.

"There is no reason for police to detain her. If Thai police believe that I have broken Thai law they should seek my extradition to Thailand via legitimate international legal channels. It is unacceptable to harass an innocent woman simply because she is married to me."

Col Piyapong Klinphan, a junta spokesman, said the National Council for Peace and Order was looking into the case to find who else was implicated.

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