A new scheme that would allow Thai police to intercept telephone calls in national security cases has been put forward to cabinet for approval, police said on Thursday, a move that has alarmed rights groups. The move aims to give police the authority to wiretap communication by amending a 1934 Criminal Procedure Code and is the latest security measure rolled out by the military government which took power following a 2014 coup.
"A cabinet meeting agreed in principle to allow tapping of telephone calls for criminal cases," police spokesman Dechnarong Sutthicharnbancha, told Reuters, adding that there were still several steps until the law is approved. Police seeking to intercept calls will have to ask court permission, said a senior police officer involved in amending the law, who declined to be named because he was not authorised to speak to media. Cases that would qualify include criminal, national security, royal insult and transnational crime cases but not political cases, he said. "The idea is very disturbing, given Thai authorities' reckless and arbitrary use of security charges," Sunai told Reuters. "Steps will have to be established to prevent the misuse of surveillance."