Thailand forced by court to rescind ‘public fear’ order

Government had been accused of trying to silence critics amid protests over its handling of pandemic

The Thai government has been forced by a court injunction to rescind an order banning news that causes public fear", as it faces growing protests over its handling of the Covid pandemic.

The government, which had sought to restrict news that causes public fear, even if it is true, had been accused by journalists and human rights groups of trying to prevent negative reporting and silence critics. The civil court issued an injunction against the regulation last week and it was revoked on Tuesday.