Bhutanese court scraps sedition case against businessman; verdict hailed as victory of democracy

A few weeks back Penjore had criticized Bhutanese authorities, state institutions, and state officials in a Facebook post, and called the country a “lawless nation”. The post drew many likes and comments from fellow Bhutanese.

As the post went viral, he was arrested by Bhutanese authorities--that too without an arrest warrant-- and was kept in detention for 16 days illegally, according to a Bhutanese state-owned newspaper Kuensel. He was slapped with defamation and libel among other charges. 

However, the court’s silence on his illegal arrest and detention, in contrast with established laws, infuriated many Bhutanese who saw the police actions as an abuse of power and bureaucratic intolerance of criticism.

On Friday, Bhutan’s Office of Attorney General filed a 9-page charge sheet in the court, converting the earlier defamation charges to sedition.

The nine-page charges detailed how Penjore had made series of"‘scurrilous and malignant" written statements on Facebook against the state, with the particular intent to "defame, encourage contempt and incite hatred against people occupying positions in public institutions, and undermine the rule of law, the democratic principles, and reputation of the country".

The court, while dismissing the case, pointed out several shortcomings. Earlier, remand and investigation were sought on the charges of defamation and libel, the court said. It also objected to the mentioning of the judiciary in the case, saying it (judiciary) had no complaints against the defendant’s reference to the institution in his Facebook post.

Unconvinced of the charges, the court dismissed the case. Kuensel also reported that the government said it would now appeal against the district court judgement in the high court.

The judgment was hailed by a wider section of the Bhutanese society as the victory of the constitution.

“The court not accepting the case speaks volumes of checks and balances in our democratic system and that the judiciary is willing to protect rights without fear and favor, as enshrined in the Constitution,” wrote Kuensel. the country's oldest English language daily, in its editorial on Saturday.

Tenzing Lamsang, the president of the Journalists Association of Bhutan and the editor of The Bhutanese, wrote on Twitter, “the Judiciary showed both wisdom and mercy in its handling of the case yesterday, and in doing so it has elevated itself and Bhutanese Democracy to a higher level.”