The Missing Americans Project

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U.S. Citizen, Navy Vet, Faces up to 30 Years in Thai Prison on Bogus Charges; Media and U.S. Government Shrug

I just got off a Skype call with the family of Derrick Keller, a U.S. Navy veteran who has spent the past year in a jail cell in Thailand because, two years earlier, he was hired to perform in a promotional video for a business that turned out to be crooked.

The only thing more frustrating than this is the wilful lack of attention demonstrated by Derrick's representatives, including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, and most of the media. With the exception of KHOU -- Houston's CBS affiliate -- the media have largely ignored the family's pleas to tell their story and swallowed whole the bogus, superficial account presented by the Thai authorities.

KHOU's Lauren Talarico is the only journalist to attempt to tell the story (click here); otherwise, efforts to get news media to share the frustration and fear of Derrick's wife, Tanya, and their children have been met, effectively, with sugar-coated versions of "Thailand says he's a crook -- if there was a story here, it would already have gone national."

Derrick's trial begins next month, and he could spend up to 29 years in Thai prison, on top of the year he has already spent. Please help us get this story the attention it deserves by sharing it broadly. President Trump has gotten other wrongfully imprisoned Americans brought home -- please help us help Derrick.

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