On 22 May 2025, Arnon Nampa, a human rights lawyer and political activist, was awarded the Front Line Defenders Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk by the organization Front Line Defenders. The award recognizes his courageous work in defending and promoting human rights, despite facing significant personal risk. This marks the fifth award Arnon […]
February 2025 saw the emergence of two new cases related to political expression, both occurring in the South. These include a Section 112 case against Watcharapong Sinso for commenting on a post in the “Royalist Marketplace – Talad Luang” Facebook group, and a Section 116 case against Abdul Afir Seng, a volunteer reporter for ‘Wartani,’ […]
In January 2025, two new cases involving political expression emerged. These included the Section 112 case against “Busbas,” now facing his fourth Section 112 charge, and Arnon Nampa, who was charged under contempt of court following his act of protest – the removal of his shirt in the courtroom. Moreover, an activist in Nakhon Ratchasima […]
During its 100th session in late August 2024, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued its opinion (Opinion No. 28/2024) on the detention of human rights lawyer Arnon Nampa under Section 112 (lèse-majesté) of the Thai Criminal Code. The Working Group concludes that the deprivation of Mr. Nampa’s liberty is arbitrary as it violates […]
On 13 March 2024, UN Special Procedures submitted a joint letter of allegation to the Thai government concerning the use of the lèse-majesté law by Thai authorities to prosecute individuals who expressed opinions deemed to be critical of the Thai monarchy. In particular, this letter came after the Thai Court of Appeals Region 5 sentenced […]
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 […]
In less than two years, the number of verdicts in lèse-majesté cases has reached 100, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Union for Civil Liberty (UCL), and Internet Law Reform Dialogue (iLaw) said today. Most of these cases were brought in connection with the defendants’ participation in pro-democracy […]
On June 28, 2023, at 9:30 a.m., the Criminal Court scheduled a hearing in the case of five activists, namely Ekachai Hongkangwan, Boonkueanun Paothong, Suranat Paenprasert and two other people charged for an assault on the Queen’s liberty. The combined charges include Section 110 of the Criminal Code for violations against the Queen or her […]
On 22 December 2022, the Juvenile and Family Court in Nonthaburi Province sentenced “Petch” Thanakorn to 3 years of imprisonment for violating Section 112 (lèse-majesté) of the Criminal Code. This marked the second case for Petch and in Thailand in which a child who did not plead guilty to Section 112 charge was convicted by […]
“Big” Kiattichai Tangpornphan is a fourth-year political science student at Thammasat University. He is a member of United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration, and, one of many who were prosecuted for political expression. He is now living under restrictions including having to wear an EM Ankle bracelet at all times. “Big” was prosecuted for Royal […]
As of October 10,2022 there are at least 80 individuals who were charged on the basis of their political expressions and received an order to wear Electronic Monitoring Anklets (EM) during trials. Since March 2018, the Ministry of Justice has employed EM to be attached to accused individuals as part of bail conditions or in […]
On 19 October 2022 Narathiwat Provincial Court read the verdict of “Pakpinya”, a 31-year-old former librarian in Bangkok who was charged under Section 112 of Thailand’s Criminal Code and Computer Crime Act 14 (3). She was accused of posting six texts allegedly insulting King Maha Vajiralongkorn (Rama X) Pakpinya was convicted under Section 112 (Lese-Majesty) […]
