Thailand: Activists criminalised including in the Deep South while Move Forward party faces disbandment

Thailand’s civic space is rated as ‘repressed’ by the CIVICUS Monitor. Over the year, scores of individuals including activists, students and children have been charged or convicted for royal defamation (lese-majesté) and given harsh sentences for their speeches and social posts critical of the monarchy. Some were denied bail. Censorship was also documented, and protesters have also been targeted with arrest and prosecution.

In January 2024, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in its World Report 2024 that the Pheu Thai Party-led government, which took office in Thailand in August 2023, has not undertaken serious human rights reforms or reversed past injustices. HRW said that authorities continued to restrict fundamental rights—particularly freedom of expression and peaceful assembly—and prosecuted human rights and democracy activists, community advocates, environmental defenders and critics of the monarchy.

On 21st December 2023, the lower house of Thailand’s Parliament began debating a package of bills proposed by the cabinet, the opposition Move Forward Party and civil society organisations. If passed, same-sex marriage will become legal in Thailand. The bills need to go through multiple readings and stages of approval before becoming law.

The Network for People’s Amnesty - consisting of more than 20 civil society organisations - drafted the Draft Amnesty for People Act to grant amnesty to victims of political prosecution for crimes resulting from the exercise of their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. The network collected signatures for a petition to introduce the bill to parliament. The bill is the fourth amnesty bill that will be considered by the parliament this year, alongside three other amnesty bills previously proposed by the Move Forward Party, the United Thai Nation Party and the Thai Teachers for People Party.

In recent months, activist Katanyu Muenkhamruang was convicted and jailed for sedition while lawmaker Rukchanok Srinork was sentenced to six years for royal defamation. Mongkol Thirakhot was jailed for 50 years for royal defamation while pro-democracy activist Arnon Nampa was given four more years in prison on the same charge. Detained protest leader Shinawat Chankrajang faces additional jail time for royal defamation as a court handed down a 25-year prison sentence to an LGBTQ+ activist for insulting the monarchy.

An activist was arrested for protesting the denial of bail to political prisoners, two activists were arrested for allegedly honking at and blocking a royal motorcade and a reporter and a freelance photographer were arrested for covering anti-royal vandalism. Activists in the Deep South were accused of clandestine activities, the police detained Cambodian activists and the election commission seeks to disband the progressive Move Forward Party. Activist Chutima Sidasathian was acquitted of charges of criminal defamation for exposing corruption.

Expression

As of 31st January 2024, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported that 263 individuals have been charged for royal defamation (lèse-majesté law) while at least 147 individuals have been charged with sedition.

Activist Katanyu sentenced to two years in prison for sedition

In November 2023, activist Katanyu Muenkhamruang was sentenced to two years in prison on a sedition charge for Facebook posts calling for people to go to protests in August 2021. She was later released on bail to file for appeal.

Katanyu, a member of the activist group Thalufah, was charged with sedition and violation of the Computer Crimes Act over two posts on the group’s Facebook page calling for people to join the 11th and 13th August 2021 protests.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) said that Katanyu and her lawyer reported to the Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) on 12th January 2022, after learning that an arrest warrant had been issued for her in November 2021. Katanyu’s defence was that she was not running the Facebook page and therefore was not responsible for the posts.

Lawmaker sentenced for insulting the monarchy

On 13th December 2023, a criminal court sentenced an opposition member of parliament to six years for insulting the monarchy. 29-year-old Rukchanok “Ice” Srinork of the Move Forward Party was convicted of committing lese-majesté (royal defamation) and violating the Computer-Related Crimes Act.

The charges against Rukchanok concerned a post to the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, that discussed a pharmaceutical company linked to the monarch that was involved in manufacturing COVID-19 vaccines. The second was a retweet of a historical anti-monarchy comment.

Hours after being sentenced, Rukchanok requested bail, which the court granted on the basis of a 500,000 Thai baht (USD 14,000) bond and the condition that she not reoffend while she appeals the sentence.

50 years in prison for insulting the monarchy

On 18th January 2024, a Thai appeal court extended an activist’s prison sentence to a record 50 years for insulting the monarchy, in what is believed to be the toughest penalty ever imposed under the country’s draconian lese-majesté law.

Mongkol Thirakhot, 30, an online clothes vendor and political activist from northern Chiang Rai province, was originally sentenced in 2023 to 28 years in prison for social media posts deemed damaging to the King.

The court of appeal in Chiang Rai found Mongkol guilty of about a dozen more violations of the royal insult law and added 22 years to his sentence, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) said in a statement.

Activist Arnon Nampa sentenced to more jail time for royal defamation

On 17th January 2024, a court sentenced Arnon Nampa, a prominent pro-democracy activist and human rights lawyer, to four more years in prison for royal defamation (lese-majesté) from a 2021 social media post. He has chosen not to request bail for his cases and stayed in jail after the court rejected a previous request on the grounds that he would escape.

As previously documented, Arnon Nampa is already serving a four-year sentence since September 2023 for lèse-majesté (Article 112) and violating the Emergency Decree for a speech he delivered during protests calling for reform of the monarchy.

Anon Nampa was at the forefront of a protest movement that erupted in 2020 when hundreds of thousands of people, many of them young students, took to the streets to call for democratic changes, including to the role of the monarchy.

Article 112 of the penal code criminalises royal defamation - commonly known as the lèse-majesté law - for any criticism of the King or the royal family and carries a punishment of up to 15 years’ imprisonment.

Activists charged for honking and blocking royal motorcade and denied bail

Two activists were arrested for allegedly honking at and blocking a royal motorcade. Tantawan Tuatulanon and Nutanon “Frank” Chaimahabut were arrested on 13th February 2024 on charges of sedition, violation of the Computer Crimes Act, and causing a public annoyance.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) said that the police accused them of honking at and trying to cut off a royal motorcade for Princess Sirindhorn, the King’s younger sister, as well as of responding rudely to police officers speaking with them about their manner of driving.

Nutanon was also charged with insulting an officer and repeatedly using the vehicle’s horn without proper reason.

In a Facebook post on 11th February 2024, Tantawan said that she did not block or cut off the motorcade. She also said she did not know that there was going to be a motorcade. She was on the way back from a funeral and admitted that she was speeding because she was in a hurry.

During Tantawan and Nutanon's bail hearing, an officer from Din Daeng Police Station testified that the vehicle Tantawan and Nutanon were in was only speeding after the royal motorcade had passed and traffic had resumed. It also did not cut in front of the royal motorcade since it could not get past the final vehicle in the motorcade.

On 14th February 2024, the Bangkok Criminal Court denied bail and approved the detention request by the police for 12 days at the investigative stage. They were denied bail again on 25th February 2024.

According to FIDH, Tantawan Tuatulanon is a pro-democracy student activist associated with pro-democracy groups Draconis Revolution and Thalu Wang (Shattering the Palace) who has advocated for the abolition of Article 112 of the Criminal Code (royal defamation) and the reform of the Thai monarchy. As a former We Volunteer member, Nutanon Chaimahabut helped ensure the safety of participants during many pro-democracy protests.

Activists charged with sedition and royal defamation over protest in 2021

Three activists were charged in March 2024 with royal defamation and sedition for reading a statement and giving a speech during a protest in November 2021 after a complaint was filed against them by an ultra-royalist group leader.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) said that Chatchai Kaedam, Chatrapee Artsomboon and Nawat Liangwattana reported to the police at Thungmahamek Police Station on 1st March 2024. The inquiry officer informed them that the charges resulted from a protest on 14th November 2021, when protesters marched to the German Embassy in Bangkok. The speeches of Chatchai and Chatrapee, as well as the group’s statement which Nawat read out, were deemed seditious and an offence under the royal defamation law.

The complaint against them was filed by Anon Klinkaew, leader of the ultra-royalist group People’s Centre to Protect the Monarchy, who has filed several royal defamation complaints against activists and netizens and has been involved in attacks on pro-democracy activists and citizen journalists.

Detained protest leader faces additional jail time for royal defamation

On 8th March 2024, a detained pro-democracy activist and protest leader was sentenced to additional prison time for royal defamation as a result of a speech he gave at a protest in 2020. Found guilty of royal defamation in two earlier cases, he now faces a total of seven years and six months in jail.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights reported that Shinawat Chankrajang was charged with royal defamation over a protest speech he gave on 21st December 2020 when he and other activists organised a march to the Bangkhen Police Station to support activists facing charges stemming from an earlier demonstration.

The court ruled that the activist was guilty as charged. He was given three years in prison for royal defamation and fined 200 baht for unauthorised use of a sound amplifier. His sentence was later reduced to one year and six months.

Shinawat has been detained since 29th February 2024 as a result of an earlier royal defamation trial in which he was sentenced to three years in jail without parole. In yet another case stemming from a speech he gave at a protest on 2nd December 2020, the activist was also given a three-year prison sentence without parole. As the court ordered that his sentences be served consecutively, Shinawat’s total prison sentence now stands at seven years and six months.

Court sentences LGBTQ+ activist to 25 years in jail

On 14th March 2024, a Thai court handed down a 25-year prison sentence to an LGBTQ+ activist for insulting the monarchy via a series of social media posts during the rule of former Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha.

The sentence, initially set at 50 years, was cut in half by the Southern Bangkok Criminal Court after a guilty plea by the defendant, a woman whose name was not released by the court but is known by the alias Maggie.

The Yasothon province woman, 26, was charged under the lèse-majesté law as well as the Computer Crime Act, resulting from tweets between December 2022 and October 2023.

The charges resulted from the social media postings, with 14 being prosecuted under Article 112 and four under the Computer Crime Act.

Prior to her arrest, Maggie worked as a temporary department store employee and had been participating since 2020 in demonstrations organised by the Ratsadon, or the People’s Movement group, according to the court.

Reporter and freelance photographer arrested for covering anti-royal vandalism

A reporter and freelance photographer were arrested after they covered an incident in March 2023 where an activist sprayed graffiti onto the wall of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.

On 12th February 2024, Nutthaphol Meksobhon, a Prachatai reporter, was arrested for being an accomplice in damaging a historic site and vandalising a wall in a public place. The arrest resulted from him covering the incident on 28th March 2023 when a 25-year-old activist sprayed an anarchist symbol and the number 112, with a strike through it, onto the wall of the Temple. This is a reference to Article 112 in Thailand’s Criminal Code, which provides for prison sentences of up to 15-years for anyone found guilty of insulting the King. A freelance photographer, later identified as Natthaphon “Yha” Phanphongsanon who covered the same incident, was also arrested. They were among several reporters at the scene.

The arrest warrant for Nutthaphol, dated 22nd May 2023, was issued at the request of Pol Lt Col Silpachai Yommai, an inquiry officer from the Grand Palace Police Station. They were charged under the Cleanliness Act and Ancient Monuments Act which combined carry a maximum seven-year prison sentence and 700,000 baht fine (USD 19,600).

Subsequently, Nutthaphol was transferred to Chalongkrung Police Station while the photographer was transferred to the Thung Song Hong Police Station. Nutthaphol and Natthaphon were later granted bail without any conditions after being detained overnight.

Court acquits activist charged with defamation

On 6th March 2024, a judge in Nakhon Ratchasima province found activist Chutima Sidasathian not guilty of three charges of criminal defamation.

According to International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), all three charges against Chutima were brought by a local elected official, Banlang sub-district mayor Thanonthorn Kaveekitrattana under Articles 326 and 328 of Thailand’s Criminal Code, for exposing allegations of corruption involving a local public official in three Facebook posts.

Chutima Sidasathian is facing six more charges of criminal defamation in four cases in connection with four other Facebook posts published in June 2023. All the cases stem from the Facebook posts in which she accused the local authorities of corruption.

Chutima Sidasathian is a community rights and anti-corruption advocate. She was also an investigative journalist and documentary producer on human rights issues.

Association

Activists in Deep South accused of clandestine activities

Nine activists in the Thai Deep South appeared at a local police station on 9th January 2024 to respond to a complaint filed the week before for alleged involvement in clandestine activities and the display of the Barisan Nasional Revolusi (BRN) insurgent flags at their recent gatherings.

Those called up include human rights activists, cultural activists and journalists. They face charges of incitement, punishable by imprisonment of no more than seven years, and being a member of a secret society or criminal association, punishable by imprisonment of no more than five years, a fine of no more than one hundred thousand baht, or both imprisonment and a fine.

The activities in question, which the police have charged them for, involve public assembling for cultural activities and wearing traditional Malay attire annually since 2019 for four consecutive years.

Their appearance at the station in Pattani province came after more than 30 human rights groups and NGOs in the southern border region cited the case in an open letter to the United Nations where they alleged that Thai police and security services have been harassing civil society groups for holding public meetings. In their letter, the groups called on the UN to investigate an alleged free-speech violation by Thai security officials against the nine.

According to the Cross-Cultural Foundation, since 2017, more than 40 activists in the southern border provinces had been summoned by the police to face criminal charges. In some cases, the plaintiff filing the complaint has been identified as Maj. Gen. Santi Sakuntanak, the army’s commander in the Deep South.

The Deep South, a predominantly Muslim Malay and heavily militarised region along the Thai-Malaysia border, is home to a decades-old separatist insurgency. Barisan Nasional Revolusi (BRN), the largest and most powerful of the insurgent groups and factions in the region, has been taking part in Malaysia-brokered peace talks with the Thai government in recent years but there have been no breakthroughs.

Police detain Cambodian activists at workshop in Thailand

Thai immigration police arrested ten Cambodians during a civic workshop in Bangkok at the end of December 2023.

The workshop drew 30 Cambodian migrant workers and political asylum seekers and included information on Cambodia’s 1991 Paris Peace Agreement, which formally ended decades of war and paved the way for parliamentary democracy in the country.

Dozens of pro-democracy Cambodian activists have fled to Thailand to seek asylum in recent years as the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) has used intimidation and the courts to neutralise the political opposition. Thailand is also host to more than one million Cambodian migrant workers.

Police told the ten Cambodians they were being detained because they were staying illegally in Thailand. All ten have refugee or asylum status from the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) that gives them legal protection in Thailand.

Three Cambodian activists arrested

In a separate case, on 3rd February 2024, three Cambodian human right activists were arrested in Thailand. Lem Sokha, Phan Phana and Kung Raiya were arrested along with their families.

The arrests came just days before Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet’s official visit to Thailand on 7th February 2024.

Lem Sokha, 45, is the vice president of the Cambodian Refugee Committee and had been in Thailand since 2017. He was arrested in Bangkok. Phan Phana, 41, is a member of the Global Cambodia Youth Network and fled to Thailand in 2022. And Kung Raiya, 32, who fled to Thailand in July, is a former member of Cambodia's opposition Candlelight Party and Cambodia's ruling government party.

All three activists had fled to Thailand to avoid political persecution. The Cambodians are recognised by the UNHCR as persons of concern.

Phil Robertson of the advocacy group Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that the case was the latest example of the Thai government acquiescing in the transnational repression of neighbouring states.

UN experts call for justice for ‘disappeared’ lawyer, 20 years on

UN experts have issued a statement demanding truth and justice 20 years after the enforced disappearance of human rights lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit.

Somchai Neelapaijit, a human rights defender and senior member of two lawyers’ associations in Thailand, was allegedly forcibly disappeared on 12th March 2004. It is believed that his disappearance was related to his work as a lawyer defending Muslim minorities in southern Thailand. No one has been held accountable for his enforced disappearance.

In 2005, Somchai’s wife Angkhana Neelapaijit reported her husband’s case to the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances and the case remains outstanding in its docket. In her attempts to ascertain the fate and whereabouts of her husband and obtain justice, she has faced threats and reprisals.

The UN experts said: “Thai authorities must comply with the country’s international obligations, investigate this crime and hold perpetrators of Somchai’s enforced disappearance criminally responsible.”

Election commission seeks to disband the progressive Move Forward Party

Thailand’s election commission has taken action aimed at disbanding the Move Forward Party (MFP), a reformist party that finished first in the 2023 election on a progressive platform.

The polling body said on 12th March 2024 that it would ask the constitutional court to dissolve the MFP, whose campaign include a promise to change strict laws against insulting the country’s royals that outraged Thailand’s conservative elite. If MFP is dissolved, its leaders could be banned from politics for 10 years.

The move follows the court’s ruling in January 2024 that the MFP’s plans to change the lese-majesté law shielding the monarchy from any criticism or mockery violated the constitution. Having studied the ruling, which deemed that proposed amendments to article 112 of the criminal code constituted an attempt to destroy Thailand’s constitutional monarchy, the commission said it had decided “unanimously” that the party should be disbanded.

Peaceful Assembly

Activist arrested for protesting denial of bail to political prisoners

On 8th February 2024, pro-democracy youth activist Thanalop ‘Yok’ Phalanchai was arrested while protesting at the Bangkok South Criminal Court for political prisoners’ right to bail. The arrest was due to an outstanding warrant regarding a contempt of court charge based on an alleged altercation between activists and a court martial in October 2023. Yok was later released after the Court reproached her.

Yok had been previously arrested in March 2023 - under the royal defamation law (lèse-majesté) of Section 112 of Thailand’s Criminal Code - for rallying for the release of political detainees. She was detained for 50 days at a juvenile facility until May 2023. At only 15, Yok is one of the youngest children to be charged under the royal defamation law.

Pro-democracy activist Netiporn ‘Bung’ Sanesangkhom was sentenced to one month in jail in January 2024 for also being involved in the October 2023 altercation. Bung was recently hospitalised following a two-week hunger strike calling for judicial reforms and stronger protection of people’s right to express political opinions.