Thailand’s blacklist of newly-banned websites — all accused of lese majeste, or criticising the King — has been leaked to whistleblower site Wikileaks.

The list contains over 1200 websites with entries as eclectic as Hillary Clinton’s campaign videos on YouTube, 24 Charlie Chaplin videos and The Economist newsmagazine.

“It is obvious that many sites were blocked for quite different reasons. It would appear, in fact, that the judiciary did not examine most sites before issuing orders but instead rubber-stamped government requests,” said a Wikileaks spokesperson in a statement.

• Read the press statement
• Read the full list of blocked sites

The ban covers weblogs referencing Paul Handley’s unauthorised biography of Thailand’s King Bhumibhol, The King Never Smiles, and its translation into Thai, along with Thai Wikipedia entries.

The webpages of Thai Buddhist social critic Sulak Sivaraska, and Thai journalist Matthew Hunt, are also blocked.

Wikileaks called on Thailand’s new Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Ranongruk Suwanchawee, to be accountable for censorship.

“Typically, web censorship in Thailand is conducted in secret. We think there is a right to know inherent in a free society. We call for transparency and accountability in government and freedom of expression, freedom of communication and freedom of association as fundamental human rights.”

With thanks to Stephen Edgar for the link.