lese majeste

lese majeste

Criminal Court sentences “Tawan” to two years under Section 112 for livestreaming on the clearing of a farmers’ protest before a royal motorcade; court finds an intention to defame, not a good-faith exercise of rights; bail granted pending appeal

Highlight (EN), Articles (EN), News (EN)

On 31 August 2026 at 9.00 a.m., the Criminal Court was scheduled to deliver judgment on “Tawan” Tantawan Tuatulanon, a 25-year-old student and activist, on a principal charge of lèse-majesté under Section 112 of the Criminal Code, over a Facebook livestream on the clearing of a farmers’ protest from the footpath on Ratchadamnoen Nok Road […]

Advocacy Team

01/09/2569

Political amnesty in force, but not automatic: what happens next under the Peaceful Society Act, which excludes Section 112

Highlight (EN)

On 23 August 2026 the Royal Gazette published the Act on Promoting a Peaceful Society B.E. 2569 (2026), which takes effect to grant a political amnesty for assembly or political expression arising from political conflict or political motivation, committed between 1 January 2005 and 16 July 2025. The Act does, however, expressly exclude offenses of […]

Advocacy Team

31/08/2569

May 2026: Supreme Court upholds  6-year-sentence in Section 112 case against Tiwagon for wearing a shirt stating  “I lost faith in the monarchy,” while  case against Thanathorn dismissed

Articles (EN), Highlight (EN), Pin to highlight, Situation Report (EN)

May 2026 saw no new cases concerning public assembly and political expression over  the last two months. Nonetheless, of 1,346 cases in which members of the public have been indicted, 523 cases are pending in various stages of the judicial process and cases are seeing constant rulings each month. However, it is projected that in […]

admin05

23/06/2569

April 2026: Political cases remain ongoing – Eight rulings made while bails have constantly been denied 

Articles (EN), Highlight (EN), Situation Report (EN)

April 2026 saw no new cases concerning public assembly and political expression for the last two months. For rulings on cases concerning public assembly and political expression, throughout April, at least eight cases including three Section 112 cases have been decided. As for the remaining five cases, the Court notably dismissed two. The first was […]

admin05

29/05/2569

February 2026: The Election Commission pressed charges against multiple citizens, while university students file charges at the Central Administrative Court concerning “QR code on ballot cards”

Articles (EN), Situation Report (EN)

In February 2026, there were four additional political cases relating to freedom of expression. The first set of cases concerns cases related to the 2026 national election: Tewa Sritawan’s case, stemming from throwing a bag of fermented fish against the walls of  the Election Commission; another case; and a case concerning a citizen charged for […]

Advocacy Team

31/03/2569

August 2025: Section 112 case against ‘Thaksin’ and “Toto” Piyarat dismissed, meanwhile one new political prisoner incarcerated in prison, number of individuals charged with Section 112 climbing to 284

Situation Report (EN)

August 2025 saw three new cases pertaining to public assembly and political expression including two Section 112 cases, one against “Aphirak”, a member of the public who just found out he was to be placed under arrest, another against Thaksin, and one case against “Ta” Kathathon for lighting flares near the Parliament.  Throughout August, rulings […]

Advocacy Team

30/10/2568

Thai Civil Society’s Open Letter to the European Commission Ahead of the Next Round of FTA Negotiations: “Trade Must Advance, not Undermine, Human Rights”

Highlight (EN), News (EN), Statement/Legal Opinion

Ms. Ursula von der Leyen President  European Commission  Brussels, Belgium Mr. Maroš Šefčovič Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security European Commission European Commission  Brussels, Belgium 27 September 2025 Re: Trade Must Advance, not Undermine, Human Rights Dear President Ursula von der Leyen and Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič, In a few days, the European Union and Thailand […]

Advocacy Team

27/09/2568

Another Lèse-Majesé Case Filed Against “Rung” and “Bee” Alleging They Are Administrators of the Facebook Page “United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration” who Published 3 Posts on Monarchy Reforms

Articles (EN), Situation Report (EN)

On 29 April 2024, at the Criminal Court, Ratchadaphisek, the Office of the Attorney General (Special Prosecutor Division for Criminal Cases 7) issued an indictment against two student activists: Panusaya “Rung” Sithijirawattanakul and Niraphorn “Bee” Onkaew, on charges under Section 112 of the Criminal Code and Section 14(3) of the Computer Crimes Act. The charges […]

Advocacy Team

10/09/2568

An Analysis of the Wrongful Detention of  Dr. Paul Chambers under Thai Law and International Law

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Dr. Paul Chambers, an American academic whose research specializes in civil-military relations in Southeast Asia, was detained on lèse majesté charges and the Computer Crimes Act by Thai authorities in April 2025. The charges stemmed from allegations that Dr. Chambers posted a blurb for a webinar—hosted by Singapore’s ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute, where he was a […]

admin05

19/08/2568

August 2024: No. of individuals prosecuted in political cases: 1,956 individuals in 1,302 cases 

Situation Report (EN), Highlight (EN), Pin to highlight

In August, there were at least two news cases under Section 112 and two additional detainees.  Meanwhile, the Court of First Instance dismissed one more case under the Public Assembly Act, making the trend of verdicts for such cases even more interesting. At the police and prosecutorial levels, preparations for indictments under the Emergency Decree […]

admin010

20/09/2567

July 2024: Number of individuals prosecuted in political cases: 1,954 persons in 1,299 cases

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In July, political prosecutions continued, with one new case each under Section 112 and the Public Assembly Act. At least three additional individuals have been detained in connection with Section 112 cases, including those who were denied bail during appeals and those whose cases have reached final judgments. Additionally, there have been rulings in significant […]

admin02

30/08/2567

June 2024: A total of 1,954 individuals prosecuted in 1,297 political cases

Pin to highlight, Highlight (EN), Situation Report (EN)

June 2024 Total number of politically charged personsAltogether 1,954 persons in 1,297 cases  No. of alleged offenders No. of cases Section 112 272 303 Section 116 152 50 Violating Emergency Decree 1,466 671 Public Assembly Act  181 99 Computer Crimes Act 202 225 Contempt of Court 43 25 (At least 34 persons indicted in 10 […]

admin02

11/07/2567
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