The current state of human rights in Thailand remains grim. Since Thailand’s 2006 coup, at least 5,027 individuals have been prosecuted for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. Almost a third of these prosecutions occurred between 18 July 2020 and 31 January 2024, during which at least 1,947 individuals were politically […]
Political prosecution continued at the end of 2023, where, despite few new lawsuits, witness and verdict hearings have taken place routinely for the existing cases filed between 2020 and 2022. The courts have passed judgments in at least 12 lèse-majesté cases, resulting in dismissals as well as guilty rulings, whereas all nine Emergency Decree and […]
In November, political prosecution continued, including the filing of at least four new lese-majeste cases. Meanwhile, various courts have passed verdicts in lese-majeste cases week after week, driving the number of people detained during and after trials up by at least 20. As for the situation regarding sedition charges under Section 116, the courts have […]
The month of October resulted in one of the highest number of verdicts in one month, 16 in total, coming from both the Court of First Instance and Court of Appeals in lese-majeste cases. Meanwhile, three more people prosecuted for political reasons have ended up in detention. In Chiang Mai, a military officer accused activists […]
(Data as of 3 October 2023.) In September, we witnessed an increase in the number of people detained in lèse-majesté cases due to their political expression, even though their cases have not concluded. In the course of one month, the Court of First Instance has passed verdicts in 4 cases and the Court of Appeals […]
There was not a significant increase in the number of political cases during the last month of 2022. That said, the courts steadily passed judgments for the cases involving protests and expressions in 2020 and 2021. Among these were at least 6 lèse-majesté cases and 12 Emergency Decree cases in this month alone. Meanwhile, the […]
On November 8, 2022, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights together with 23 other Human Rights Organizations submitted a letter to various foreign embassies in Thailand including the members states of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation or APEC such as the embassies of The United States of America, Canada, and Australia, the European Union member states such […]
30 September 2022 marks the last day of the effect of the declaration of an emergency situation to handle the Covid-19 outbreak in all areas of the country following the Cabinet’s resolution. First announced on 26 March 2020 and subsequently extended 19 times every 1 – 2 months, the emergency situation in Thailand was effective […]
The charge of violating the Emergency Decree announced in 2005 has been currently in use to prosecute political activists preventing protests, rallies, and demonstrations from taking place in crowded areas in which turmoil can occur. Since 2020, it is a charge used as a tool to restrict the right to freedom of expression and the […]
On 22 September 2022, Thailand’s Juvenile and Family Court read the verdict of “Mimi” an 18-year-old activist. She was the first child charged with violating the Emergency Decree for her activism at the #25Oct20 protest at Ratchaprasong Intersection. “The defendant was only 16 years old at that time and was interested in the nation’s political situation, thus, […]
In August 2022, at least 29 individuals are still in detention during their political trials. Arrests under section 112, the lèse-majesté law of Thailand’s Strictest Criminal Code continue to occur periodically with the police usually seeking arrest warrants from the court immediately without issuing summons prior to making an arrest . Additionally, the court continued […]
In July 2022, there has been an increase in number of people detained during trials in political cases, including section 112 cases. It is also necessary to monitor court decisions for many ongoing trials. Meanwhile, police have pressed additional charges against protesters of the Din Daeng protests in 2021 for the violation of the Emergency […]
