The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) is expected to charge Penjore to court next week along with co-defendants who allegedly manage the seditious website and for allegedly maligning Royal Bhutan Police and the institution of OAG, Kuensel learned.
Penjore was supposed to be charged this week in connection to online defamation, libel, and sedition. However, the prosecution was delayed because of forensic examination of Penjore’s phone records and social media forums.
Sources say that there are more individuals involved in supporting alleged “contemptuous, unfounded and unlawful attacks against the national unity, security, and sovereignty of the country”.
Kuensel learned that eight experienced prosecutors of OAG’s prosecution and litigation division had reviewed the police investigation report and found that several individuals used the social media platform, The Bhutanese News and Forum, to attack and malign institutions and individuals.
The preliminary report revealed that the forum is operated and administered by a person in Thimphu. Sources also said that OAG prosecutors are yet to decide whom charged for probable sedition.
The controversy between Penjore and OAG surfaced after Penjore was arrested and detained for 16 days for alleged defamatory posts against public officials and institutions, including OAG.
Staff Reporter
Edited by Tshering Palden