July 15: Anchana Heemmina Faces Indictment under Computer Crimes Act over Facebook Post on Unpaid Mosque Water Bill
On July 15, 2025, at 9:30 AM, Ms. Anchana Heemmina, President of the Duayjai Association and a human rights defender, will appear before the Narathiwat Provincial Prosecutor, as scheduled, along with her lawyers from the Cross Cultural Foundation. The prosecutor is expected to submit her case and proceed with an indictment under the Computer Crimes Act B.E. 2550 (2007) to the court on the same day. Anchana plans to file a request for temporary release without bail, as she poses no flight risk and has not been required to post bail during the investigation or prosecution phases. The case stems from a Facebook post in which Anchana questioned a state agency’s unpaid water bills owed to a local mosque.
In this case, investigators at Bacho Police Station, Narathiwat Province, initially charged Anchana with defamation by means of publication under Section 328 of the Thai Criminal Code. The charge followed a complaint filed by a representative of the Royal Thai Navy, in response to Anchana’s Facebook post questioning a state agency’s failure to pay a mosque’s water bill. In the original post, Anchana mistakenly identified the mosque as being located in Bacho District. Upon realizing the error, she promptly corrected the post, clarifying that the mosque in question was actually located in Bue Re Subdistrict, Sai Buri District.
Although the 44th Military Ranger Regiment, the unit responsible for the area in Sai Buri District, later issued a public explanation regarding the delayed water bill payment to the mosque in the Sai Buri District, and Anchana subsequently posted a message thanking the agency for clarifying the matter and resolving the issue, the Royal Thai Navy nonetheless proceeded to file a legal complaint against her. They alleged that Anchana’s original Facebook post caused reputational damage to Navy personnel stationed in Bacho District.
Earlier, on July 3, 2025, Anchana submitted a petition to the Attorney General at the Office of the Attorney General in Bangkok, reiterating that her post was made in good faith, based on real concerns of local residents, and served the public interest. She emphasized that the post contained factual information logically connected to the issue, and did not introduce false data into the computer system nor defame any individual or entity.
Anchana’s case is yet another example of a human rights defender and ordinary citizen who, in exercising her right to freedom of expression and raising legitimate questions to the state on behalf of affected communities, now faces legal action initiated by state authorities. The Cross Cultural Foundation calls on the media and the public to closely follow Anchana’s indictment and court proceedings in Narathiwat, as an act of solidarity with human rights defenders and a reaffirmation that citizens have the right to question and hold the state accountable.
