Uwazi

On 24 June 2020, a WHRD received online death threat ahead of a webinar in Thailand.

On 24 June 2020, a WHRD received online death threats by social media users ahead of a webinar in Thailand.

Rayong police have charged a 23-year-old student with violation of the Emergency Decree and the Public Assembly Act after he organized a �Who Ordered the Abduction of Wanchalearm?� rally. The student says he is going to fight the case and rejects all the charges.

On 16 June, 23-year-old Panupong Jadnok, a student at Ramkhamhaeng University, was charged as responsible for the Young Leaders group of Rayong with violating the 2008 Emergency Decree for organizing a �Who Ordered the Abduction of Wanchalearm?� rally and displaying a sign saying �Who Ordered the Abduction of Wanchalearm Satsaksit?� at Si Mueang Park on 14 June in a call for justice for Wanchalearm.

Panupong said police initially charged him only with violation of the Emergency Decree, but he was later also charged with violation of the Public Assembly Act, when the investigation found that he did not obtain permission to organize the gathering.

Panupong rejects all the accusations and confirmed that he will fight the case in court. He has asked for 15 days to write a clarification letter.

Panupong and 12 other Young Leaders of Rayong organized the rally marching around Sri Mueang Park for 40 minutes, carrying signs and with white ribbons tied around their wrists. He said the rally went smoothly and participants wore protective masks.

Panupong said he met Deputy Public Health Minister Satit Pitutacha during the rally. Satit said he doesn�t agree with whoever violated the law when Panupong asked him his opinion on the enforced disappearance.

With regard to Wanchalearm�s disappearance, Panupong said that as Wanchalearm was an activist, and Panupong and his team also have developed through activism, he sees a shared ideology between him and Wanchalearm. He also sees the equality of humanity and human rights that should be protected.

The Emergency Decree was initially imposed to control Covid-19, but Panupong said when the people speak out, the government uses the Emergency Decree to prosecute them. Panupong sees that it is being misused and he is campaigning using the hashtag #LiftTheEmergencyDecree (#???????.?.?.???????)

Panupong said the next event will be organized on 24 June. There will be an exhibition on the 1932 Siamese Revolution. Leaders from seven provinces in the Eastern region will join the event under the name of Eastern Youth for Democracy. He is now consulting with his team on the location.

�Today I see as the beginning of a continuing fight and as the spark for many so that everyone sees that the Emergency Decree isn�t to control the disease but to deprive people of their rights and expression. I ask that my sacrifice is a wake-up call for everyone to protect their own rights. I ask everyone to be brave to do it for our country and I ask everyone to fight for our future. #LookingForCompanion #LiftTheEmergencyDecree.� Panupong posted on his personal Facebook page.

On 14 June, the ???????????? Free YOUTH Facebook page posted that Tattep Ruangprapaikitseree, a recent political science graduate from Chulalongkorn University, reported receiving a summons from Wang Thong Lang Police Station for violating the Emergency Decree on the day he called for justice for Wanchalearm in front of the Cambodian Embassy.

Around 10 protestors calling for justice for Wanchalearm in front of the Cambodian Embassy have received summons for violating the Emergency Decree.

The Cross Cultural Foundation issued a statement stating, �the protests do not amount to an �assembly or gathering of persons�which may cause unrest,� rather, they are legitimate and peaceful in nature, and concurrent with the principles of Human Rights Defenders. Therefore, the charges and summons filed can only be seen as an abuse of the power granted by the Decree to intimidate and deprive the rights of those who do not agree with the government.�

On 16 June 2020, Panupong Jadnokm, student, was charged by the police under Emergency Decree for organising a rally seeking clarity onthe abduction of a Thai activist in Cambodia in Rayong, Thailand.

Police have pressed charges against three students for violation of the Cleanliness Act and failing to carry their national identification cards after they attempted to tie white ribbons at various locations around Bangkok to protest against the abduction in Cambodia of Thai activist Wanchalearm Satsaksit.

Parit Chiwarak, one of the four student activists, said the police initially charged them with violation of the Emergency Decree but later dropped the charge after the students said they would protest by drawing their blood if charged under the Decree.

The police cited Section 12 of the 1992 Act on the Maintenance of the Cleanliness and Orderliness of the Country, which states, �no one shall scrape, chip, scratch, write, spray paint or make appear by any means� messages in public places. Violators are subject to a fine of no more than 5,000 baht.

They also cited the 1983 National Identity Card Act as the students failed to present their ID cards when asked by officers.

Four students activists of the Student Union of Thailand (SUT) � Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul,Jutatip Sirikhan, Chanin Wongsri and Parit Chiwarak � were taken to Samranrat Police station on Tuesday (9 June) afternoon while they were trying to tie white ribbons at the Democracy Monument.

Around 30 uniformed and undercover officers were reported to be on scene.

Before the arrest, they went to various locations in Bangkok including the Phaya Thai area, the Ratchaprasong area, the Pratunam area, the Equestrian Statue, the First Army Area Headquarters and the Ministry of Defence. This is a part of the SUT�s �White Ribbon Against Dictatorship� campaign, in which they invite the public to display a white ribbon to call for justice for Wanchalearm.

When they were in front of the Ministry of Defence, around 10 military officers stopped them and said their campaign was not allowed as �it was symbolic.�

While Jutatip, Chanin and Parit were charged with violation of cleanliness and identification acts, Panusaya was only charged with violation of the Traffic Act as her parked car obstructed the traffic.

Police were reportedly trying to search Panatsaya�s cars without a warrant, taking photos of its licence plate without her lawyer�s presence and denying the presence of the students� lawyers when explaining their allegations.

Students and professors from many universities gathered in front of Samranrat Police Station showing support for them while the hashtag #?????????????? (#LetOurFriendsGo) trended on Twitter as members of the public called for their release.

After almost six hours in police custody, they were released at 20:00. The police plan to deliver the case to prosecutors on 22 June at 9:00 at Samranrat Police Station. They together sang Jit Phumisak�s song �Starlight of Faith� and shouted �Dictatorship shall fall� as the students emerged.

On 9 June 2020, four students were arrested by the police for demonstrating against the alleged abduction of an pro-democracy activist in Cambodia in Bangkok, Thailand.

On 28 May 2020, a comunity-based WHRD was visited by the police after publicly demanding the Emergency Decree to be revoked in Thailand.

On 28 May 2020, a comunity-based WHRD was visited by the police after publicly demanding the Emergency Decree to be revoked in Thailand.

Katima Leeja, a 35-year-old year old Lisu woman human rights defenders from Chiang Dao District, Chiang Mai Province, was visited by a plainclothes military officer on Saturday evening around 4pm of 9 May 2020. The plainclothes officer, who was from the 4th Cavalry Regiment in Chiang Mai, said that he was told by his higher up to inquire information about Katima. The incident took place a week after eight Wildlife Sanctuary Inspector Officer got involved in land disputes with 3 villagers and allegedly hit a 55-year old Lisu man in the head during confrontation in Chiang Dao Wildlife Sanctuary zone on 2 May 2020.

Later, Katima as a coordinator of the Lisu Network of Thailand, was seen in a video uploaded on Facebook on Tuesday, 5 May, where she was reading out a statement by the Network, criticizing such action by the authority and demanding it to be investigated by a committee. On Thursday, 7 May, she and about 30 villagers submitted a letter to Chiang Dao Chief District Officer at Chiang Dao District Office, demanding that the investigation committee be set up to look into the incident, and that the authorities conduct proper survey of the land to clarify the land use area to avoid further conflict.

During the house visit, the plainclothes military officer told Katima there was no specific reason for the inquiry, but said that he was asked by his supervisor to inquire information about Katima. He said that the supervisor earlier called her but she did not pick up the phone, therefore he had to pay her a visit.

He asked how Katima came to be involved in human rights work relating to land rights and indigenous people�s rights. The officer also asked Katima information about her birthday, marital status, phone number, members residing in the house, her parents and siblings� name, and their occupation. The visit lasted about 30 minutes.

Katima said that the visit was the first time she ever received obvious threatening act from the authorities. After the visit, she and her family members feel concerned about her safety as she is ethnic minority group. In recent years, there has been various cases of enforced disappearance or extrajudicial killing against vocal indigenous human rights defenders, such as the case of Billy Rakchongcharoen, a prominent Karen HRD who disappeared in 2014 and later whose body was found in 2019.

�I feel quite concerned and so are my family members to receive such visit. It feels strange that he asked me a lot of questions. Now it made me think twice if I have to go anywhere by myself. Of course, I don�t want to be the second Billy,� said Katima

The military officer, who refused to identify his name, explained to PI on the phone that the visit was supposed to be only �casual� and �friendly� and not meant to be threatening in anyway. He said he was not aware that the inquiry has anything to do with the Katima�s action protesting the forest authorities, and that he only followed his higher up�s order to get the information. Such visit is common for the soldiers who go and talk to the villagers on regular basis, which is meant to be for friendly exchanges, he said.

Katima, who received a recognition and award from the National Human Rights Commission as the outstanding women human rights defender in 2017, started her human rights defenders work as her father, a Lisu community leader, was shot to death in 2012 in the case relating to land disputes and discrimination against the indigenous people.

Protection International, Thailand would like to emphasize that States have a responsibility to pledge protection to WHRDs at risk and should be held accountable for fulfilling this responsibility.

We also would like to highlight the necessity to progress an included concept of security that goes beyond just the physical protection of the individual.

Such a notion of security would encourage the expansion of prevention measures and take into account the need to feel safe at home, at community and in public, as well as integrating the physical and psychological well-being of WHRDs, families and their groups.

Correspondingly, we echoed the need for protection methods and platforms to take into account the economic, historical, cultural, political, and social contexts in which WHRDs live and address their specific needs and realities.

On 9 May 2020, Katima Leeja, indigenous rights defender and WHRD, was visited by a military officer for speaking out against a case of violence perpetrated by local authorities in Chiang Dao District, Thailand.

An anti-mining villager was summoned by the police in Chaiyaphum Province on Tuesday (28 April 2020) after joining the Network of People Who Own Mineral Resource, a nationwide network which monitors impacts of mining projects on communities, and reading out a statement demanding the government and private sector to put on hold any mining activities during the period when restrictions are imposed to combat spread of Covid-19.

The group stated that even though the draconian Emergency Decree is being enforced to prevent citizens from public activities and gatherings, mining companies still continue their mining activities including mining surveys, operations and approval processes during this pandemic, which affect community members in terms of their rights and participation, as well as health concerns.

Sunthorn Duangnarong (who identifies herself as female), an LGBT+ and community human rights defender from the Rak Bamnet Narong Conservation Group based in Bamnet Narong District, Chaiyaphum Province, was visited by 7 police officers in 3 cars from Hua Thale Police Station in Bamnet Narong District at around 10 am on Tuesday, 28 April 2020, as she was doing agricultural work in the field.

Earlier that day she had joined about 20 other community members, whilst practicing physical and social distancing, in reading out a statement calling on the government and private mining companies to put on hold any mining-related activities for as long as the Covid-19 restrictions are in place. This activity was recorded on camera and subsequently uploaded on the Network�s campaign Facebook page on the morning of 28 April 2020.

She was arrested and taken to Hua Thale Police Station and was examined by the police without her lawyer being present, or there being any official summons.

We were informed that the Internal Security Command Operations (ISOC) and police in Bangkok found the video clip online and ordered the Hua Thale police to investigate the matter. The police officers informed Sunthorn that they were only examining her as a witness to gather evidence, and would not yet press any charges against her.

However, the police informed her that she may later be charged for violating: 1) the Public Assembly Act as the authorities were not notified beforehand, where the maximum penalty is a fine of 10,000 baht; 2) the Emergency Decree, where the maximum penalty is a fine of 40,000 baht and/or a jail sentence of 2 years; and/or 3) the Communicable Diseases Act, where the maximum penalty is a fine of 20,000 baht.

During the questioning, the police also allegedly made threats against her, asking her not to post such online messages again, otherwise the charges �may arrive faster to you,� according to a community member who witnessed the interview.

Protection International Thailand deplores such actions as they violate the people�s rights to exercise their freedoms, including the freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly.

The government must not exploit the pandemic situation to increase the sufferings of the people by intimidation and/or prosecutions of human rights defenders.

The government should not use the draconian Emergency Decree to quash dissent, control the population, or as a means to perpetuate their time in power, as was recommended by UNOHCHR to the government on 27 April 2020. UNOHCHR also emphasized that undermining freedom of expression �may do incalculable damage to the effort to contain COVID-19 and its pernicious socio-economic side-effects.�

Judicial harassment, violence and intimidation against women human rights defenders has increased. Protection International was alarmed by the spike in the number of Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) who face judicial harassment following the 2014 coup. In 2017, PI reported to CEDAW that 179 community-based WHRDs had been taken to court. Since then, the number of WHRDs in this situation has risen to 440 (2020) despite the recommendation of the CEDAW Committee that the Thai government end judicial harassment of WHRDs.

Many of these are SLAPP lawsuits against community WHRDs, the majority whom are poor urban women facing eviction because of their actions in defending land and natural resources. Thailand, as a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, is duty bound to protect the freedom of expression of its people by ensuring that its laws are aligned with international human rights laws and standards.

Thailand must end judicial harassment of human rights defenders and we call on the State not to use emergency declarations during the COVID-19 crisis to impose wholesale restrictions on freedom of peaceful assembly and association. The government and law enforcement agencies must act to prevent human rights abuses.

We reiterate the demands of the Network of People Who Own Mineral Resources that restrictions to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic be also enforced on all mining-related activities. People�s rights and freedoms must never be violated. The government must protect those who speak up about mining operations and their impacts on communities, and ensure non-suppression of HRDs who play a very important role in continuing to care for their livelihoods, communities, society, and the environment.

On 28 April 2020, Sunthorn Duangnarong, SOGI rights and community based defenders was summoned and arrested by the police after joining a demonstration against ongoing mining activities during the lockdown in Chaiyaphum Province, Thailand.

On 28 April 2020, an environmental rights defender was sued by an industrial waste management company for complaining about its environmental impact in Thailand.

On 28 April 2020, an environmental rights defender was sued by an industrial waste management company for complaining about its environmental impact in Thailand.

A village head was arrested after a renowned development monk and his layman companion were shot dead after being detained for violating the night curfew.

The fatal shooting occurred near the entrance to Khao Phela monastery on Khao Phela Road in tambon Samor Thong of Tha Chana district.

Wisut Intharakamnoen, chief of Tha Chana district, said it was reported to him about 2am on Tuesday, and he accompanied Thana Chan police chief Pol Col Thitiwat Suthitivanich and other police to the scene.

They found a converted flatbed pickup truck loaded with torches, fuel and coconut coir parked on the road. A man identified later as Churat Khongkhlai, 48, was lying dead on the back of vehicle with a gunshot wound to his neck.

About 10 metres away, was the body of a monk, identified later as Phra Chonlathan Thavaro Kanchanabut, 49, abbot of Khao Phela monastery. He had two gunshot wounds, one in the back of his head and the other in his right rib cage. A .32 handgun was found near his body.

Manop Kopin, 55, headman of Moo 9 village in tambon Samor Thong, was waiting for police, and surrendered to them.

Panyaporn Wattanapramote, assistant district chief, said he received a report from Thasaphon Thipsak, chief of tambon Samor Thong, that two people had been arrested about 12.30am for leaving their homes during the 10pm-4am curfew.

He led a team to the area and found Mr Manop and his team had already detained Mr Churat and Phra Chonlathan. They had seized the truck and equipment used for catching bees.

Mr Panyaporn said while he was reporting the curfew violation to the district chief over the phone, he heard gunshots. He went to check and found the village head had shot dead the monk and the layman.

During police interrogation, Mr Manop claimed he saw the monk pulling out a pistol and Mr Churat grabbing a knife. He was frightened, believing they would attack him, and fired three shots at them, killing the pair on the spot.

Police detained the village head for further interrogation. Forensic officers were collecting evidence from the scene.

Phra Chonlathan was a development monk in Tha Chana district. He played a key role in leading local residents to build weirs and plant trees. In 2016, he received the Hemmarat award for being a good role model in the field of forest and environment protection. Two years later, he received another award for being a good role model.

However, local sources said the monk had later been involved in a conflict with some people in the area.

On 7 April 2020, Phra Chonlathan Thavaro Kanchanabut was shot dead by village chief for violating curfew, falsely alleging he was owning a firearm in Tha Chana district, Surat Thani, Thailand.

On 3 April 2020, two WHRDs got intimidated by local administration officers for exposing public health facility maladministration related to COVID-19 in Thailand.

On 3 April 2020, two WHRDs got intimidated by local administration officers for exposing public halth facility maladministration related to COVID-19 in Thailand.

A former reporter for Voice TV in Thailand was sentenced to two years’ jail by a Lopburi court on Tuesday, December 24, for tweeting about the exploitation of workers at a local poultry farm in 2017. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns the Thailand court ruling and demands charges to be dropped.

Suchanee (Cloitre) Rungmuenporn was sued by Thammakaset Co, a poultry supplier to Thai agribusiness giant Betagro. Following the verdict, she was granted bail and will appeal the verdict. Cloitre is one of more than 20 journalists, workers and activists targeted and sued by the company in legal proceedings.

Suchanee, who worked for Voice TV at the time, posted a retweet post former Migrant Workers Rights Network (MWRN) advisor Andy Hall in September 2017 that detailed an order by Thailand’s Supreme Court for the owners of Thammakaset to provide compensation of THB 1.7 million (USD 56,000) to 14 workers from Myanmar. Her post appeared together with a copy of the verdict by Thailand’s Appeals Court, with the word 'slavery' added to the post.

In 2016, Thammakaset sued some of its workers after they reported they had been forced to work up to 20 hours a day without a day off, for at least 40 days in a row. The workers also received below minimum wage and were not paid overtime compensation. In order to restrict the movement of the workers, the company also allegedly confiscated the workers’ identity documents. Thammakaset also sued a labor activist and two workers after they used time cards as evidence in the case against it. The company subsequently lost both cases. The Department of Labor Protection and Welfare of Thailand has already ordered Thammakaset to pay compensation amounting to THB 1.7million (USD 56,000).

Thammakaset’s lawyers filed the case against Suchanee, citing in its defence that the company had paid compensation and that the journalist’s use of the word 'slavery' caused harm and had defamed the company.

The Lopburi provincial court released Suchanee on a bail of TBH 75,000 (USD 2,500) after the sentence was handed down. Her lawyer said journalist, who is mother of an 8-month-old son, would appeal the verdict.

On 24 December 2019, Suchanee Rungmuenporn, journalist, was sentenced to 2-year jail term for online posting by the Provincial Court of Lopburi, Thailand.

On 09 December 2019, around seventy heavily armed rangers raided human rights defender Arfan Wattana’s house in the Narathiwat Province of Thailand at 12:30am. Arfan Wattana was present at his home along with his family when the incident took place. Four days later, the grounds for the raid have still not been communicated.Arfan Wattana is a prominent Patani leader and human rights defender predominantly working in the region of Patani, one of the most militarized regions in Asia which has been under martial law for the past 15 years. He currently works as assistant of foreign affairs at an NGO, The Patani organisation. In his capacity, Arfan Wattana advocates for Patani issues at the international level. He is a vocal critic of Thailand’s assimilation policies in Patani and the recipient of the Young Southeast Asia Leaders Initiative scholarship.On 9 December 2019, a little after midnight, Arfan Wattana’s house was raided while he and his family of nine were at home. About 70 rangers in fifteen cars surrounded his house and asked the human rights defender and his family to exit the house. The raid was led by the 48th ranger forces regiment along with the Department of Special Investigations. All of the family, including two young children and his ailing older parents were asked to leave the house while it was being raided. The human rights defender requested that the children be allowed to sleep, but no regard was given to the request. The officers then began to photograph Arfan Wattana and in return, the human rights defendertook photographs of the officials, at which point one of themsnatched his phone away and deleted all the photos on it. Arfan Wattana was further threatened that he would be taken to the military base if he tried to resist the raid. The raid took place over a two hour period and ended with the human rights defender having to sign a few documents. In addition to this, the officers also took copies of his and his family’s ID. Due to the Martial Law in place in the region, the military have been able to exercise their authority with no checks. According to Section 8 of the Martial Law Act, “the military authority shall have full power of search, compulsory requisition, prohibition, seizure, staying in, destruction or alteration of any place and turning out of persons”. Police and military officers can also “cordon off, search, arrest and detain persons without having to establish search warrants or arrest warrants issued by the Court”.This is not the first time that Arfan Wattana’s house has been raided. Since 2007, Arfan’s house has been searched 10 times by the police or military on account of his involvement in student activism calling for the respect of human rights and the Patani’s right to self determination.It has become increasingly common for Patani leaders to be arbitrarily detained, tortured or killed over the past years. To add to this climate of fear, the region is closely watched by a military force which is guarded by impunity laws so, despite the alarming human rights violations, no military officials have ever been prosecuted.

On 9 December 2019, Arfan Wattana, community-based HRD, had his family house raided at night time by 70 policemen as result of his work in Narathiwat Province, Thailand.

A protest to raise awareness about climate change was forced to cancel by the police Friday just minutes after it began in front of a park.

The rally, called Climate Strike Thailand, was scheduled to kick off at Lumpini Park at about 6pm today, but police officers from Lumpini Park arrived at the scene and told them to disperse. The officers refused to give any specific reason, though one eyewitness said police told them it was inappropriate to hold a protest in front of a statue of King Rama VI.

“Ironically, we were trying to get into the park, but somebody in the authorities told us we couldn’t go into the park, that’s why we ended up here,” the protester said.

About 100 people were participating in a “die-in” in front of the statue when police intervened. The memorial is a tribute to King Rama VI, who died in 1925.

The news came as a surprise to the activists because a similar demonstration was held in September without any interference from the authorities.

The climate change protest at Lumpini Park took place in the heart of Bangkok’s financial district; nearby landmarks include Silom Road and Chulalongkorn Hospital.

On 29 November 2019, a group of protester was dispersed without explanation by the police in Bangkok, Thailand.

On Wednesday (27 November), the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) issued a statement condemning Thammakaset Co., Ltd’s use of the criminal defamation provisions of the Thai Criminal Code to harass former National Human Rights Commissioner Angkhana Neelapaijit.

“This action by Thammakaset is a textbook case of how defamation laws are used in Thailand to silence human rights defenders. It is clearly without any legitimate basis, and intended to harass and intimidate Khun Angkhana, who is a leading champion of human rights in Thailand and the region,” said Frederick Rawski, ICJ Asia Pacific Regional Director. “We hope that the Courts will dismiss this frivolous case at first opportunity.”

On 25 October 2019, Thammakaset Co. Ltd., a poultry farm in Lopburi Province, filed a criminal defamation suit under sections 326 and 328 of the Criminal Code against Angkhana Neelapaijit for two posts she shared that contained links to press statements of 16 organizations, including the ICJ, and Fortify Rights.

The statements cited in the warrant as the basis for the action were a post on 3 December 2018 in which Angkhana Neelapaijit re-tweeted an ICJ link to a joint statement co-signed by 16 organizations, including the ICJ. The statement contained a link (now defunct) to a short film in which former employees spoke out about alleged labor abuses; and a post on 28 June 2019 which included a link to a Fortify Rights’ news release containing the same link. The film refers to a previous defamation complaint brought by Thammakaset against 14 of its former workers, and called upon the authorities to drop criminal defamation charges against them and decriminalize defamation in Thailand. Thammakaset claimed that the film was defamatory.

Criminal defamation, under sections 326 of the Criminal Code, carries a maximum sentence of one year of imprisonment, a fine of up to 20,000 Baht (approx. USD 640) or both. Section 328 criminalizes defamation “by means of publication” with up to two years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to 200,000 Baht (approx. USD 6,400).

Thailand is party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which guarantees the right to freedom of expression. The UN Human Rights Committee, the supervisory body that provides the authoritative interpretation of the ICCPR, has called on States that criminalize defamation to abolish criminal defamation laws and reserve defamation for civil liability.

“The criminal defamation provisions in the Criminal Code have been repeatedly invoked for nefarious ends, such to target persons seeking to bring public attention to human rights violations, including by business enterprises. They need to be removed from the Criminal Code as a matter of urgency,” said Rawski. “The imposition of criminal penalties for speech, even allegedly defamatory speech, is disproportionate and risks having a ‘chilling effect’ on the exercise of freedom of expression.” Background

Angkhana Neelapaijit is a Thai human rights defender and the wife of human rights lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit, who was abducted more than 15 years ago. His abduction was the only case of enforced disappearance to ever be tried in a Thai court. In 2015, she was appointed commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand, before resigning in July 2019, and is a recipient of the 2019 Ramon Magsaysay Awards.

A court warrant was sent to Angkhana Neelapaijit on 23 November 2019. A conciliation conference, at which parties are brought together to settle a dispute before trial, is scheduled to be held on 12 February 2020 at Bangkok South Criminal Court.

The ICJ has repeatedly expressed concerns about the use of existing defamation laws to harass human rights defenders, activists, lawyers, academics, and journalists in Thailand, for carrying out their legitimate and important work to raise awareness and highlight human rights issues.

This case is one of many defamation and other cases brought by Thammakaset against any individuals perceived to have expressed dissent, conducted advocacy on or released information relating to labour rights violations committed by the Company. According to the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), as of May 2019, Thammakaset has filed complaints with the police, the Criminal Court, and the Civil Court against at least 22 individuals in at least 14 cases.

These included criminal defamation complaints against Sutharee Wannasiri, human rights defender and a former Thailand Human Rights Specialist with Fortify Rights, for three comments she was alleged to have made on Twitter related to the same film produced by Fortify Rights; Ngamsuk Rattanasatiean, who had shared information on the Facebook page of the Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies; Suchanee Rungmuanporn, a reporter from Voice TV who had made a post on Twitter highlighting labour rights violations by Thammakaset; Suthasinee Kaewleklai, coordinator of the Migrant Workers Rights Network, who had shared information on Facebook relating to the cases; and other separate cases against 14 migrant workers and former employees.

On 25 November 2019, Angkhana Neelapaijit, WHRD and former member of the NHRC of Thailand, was sued for defamation by Thammakaset Co., agricultiral business actor, in response to a social media post she shared in 2018 in Bangkok, Thailand.

Police on Tuesday said they arrested a pro-democracy campaigner who spread “hatred” toward the monarchy in an online post – an allegation disputed by his lawyer.

Karn Pongpraphapan, 25, was arrested at his home last night and taken to a police station where he was charged with violating the cybercrime law, according to a statement released today by the cyberpolice division. If found guilty, Karn faces five years in jail.

The police statement did not specify what Karn wrote, but described it as an “inappropriate content on Facebook spreading hatred” which “upset a number of people” after it was widely shared. Karn is charged under Section 14 of the Computer Crime Act, which bans disseminating online contents that “pose a threat to national security.”

But his attorney Winyat Chatmontree said the message in question was a public Facebook post Karn wrote on Oct. 2, which asked “How do you want it to end?”

Karn then went on to reference historical events involving past foreign monarchies, such as “shooting like the Russians,” “beheading by guillotine like the French,” and “exiled like the Germans.”

Winyat said he wanted to stress that Karn’s writing did not mention the Thai monarchy in any way. He also disputed speculation on social media that Karn was criticizing the recent traffic woes allegedly caused by royal motorcade in Bangkok.

“He was not talking about the Thai monarchy. He was not talking about the royal convoy,” the lawyer said. “He was talking about the history of other nations.”

Winyat said the post was nonetheless twisted by a number of people, and some even shared the message while attaching an image of Thai royal family to the post, which Karn did not do. The activist later deleted the post and deactivated his account when it became clear that his words were being distorted, the lawyer said.

“There is an element of witch-hunting involved,” Winyat said. “He was falsely accused of attempting to overthrow the monarchy.”

The arrest came several days after digital economy minister Puttipong Punnakan announced that the police were on the verge of “purging” anti-monarchy figures on social media.

It also followed a recent wave of online discontent toward road blockades in the capital attributed to royal motorcades, which led to severe traffic congestion.

The police statement on Karn’s arrest warned that anyone sharing his message will be liable for prosecution under the same charge.

Winyat said Karn is currently held at a police station’s cellroom, and he will be brought to court later today for a bail hearing.

“He is in good spirits,” Winyat said.

On 8 October 2019, Karn Pongpraphapan, pro-democracy activist, was arrested by the police in Bangkok, Thailand, and charged with allegedly making threats to Monarchy for an online post he shared.

Sirisak Chaited, an LGBT rights activist, said she has received a threatening email ahead of the ASEAN Peoples’ Forum (APF) on 10 – 12 September, while Siyeed Alam, chair of the Rohingya Association in Thailand, said he has been contacted by Special Branch officers.

On Saturday (7 September), Sirisak posted on her Facebook page that she had received an email from an anonymous sender requesting “co-operation in peaceful communication” and asking her to discuss human rights in the APF meeting “without affecting the image of the country and other ASEAN members.”

The email also said that “we understand the current situation. Speaking the truth directly is something that should happen, but in certain situations, we need to think of the collective interest both at the national and the ASEAN level too, especially when criticizing issues that may affect the image of our country or may cause conflicts between nations."

"We hearby request your cooperation. This is also because we are concerned for your safety and that of the people in this country and in other ASEAN member states."

Siyeed Alam, chair of the Rohingya Association in Thailand, also said that Special Branch officers had contacted him to get information on members of the Rohingya community who are attending the APF. Officials have called him asking to schedule a meeting and to photograph his “0 Card” or the identity card for persons without registration status.

Meanwhile, the Forum was moved from the Berkeley Hotel Pratunam to the Rangsit campus of Thammasat University after the organizing committee refused funding of around 10 million baht from the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, citing as their reason interference from security officials in, for example, requesting for a list of overseas participants. However, the Director of the Foreign Affairs Division of the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security said that the Ministry is unable to issue funding since the organizers did not provide them with a list of participants. The Ministry is also organizing a parallel ASEAN Peoples’ Forum at the Berkeley Hotel Pratunam on 9 – 12 September.

On 7 September 2019, Sirisak Chaited, an LGBT rights activist, received online threats from an anonymous sender, and Siyeed Alam, chair of the Rohingya Association in Thailand, was harassed by a Thai Special Branch.

Only two days after North East-based NGOs and activists issued a courageous statement denouncing the military government, the military on Tuesday November 4th summoned and briefly detained the statement signatories. According to the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR), the individual signatories have been summoned via telephone to meet the military at military camps in various provinces in the region. In some cases, fully armed military officers raided their houses of some and took the persons to the military camps. On Tuesday, two persons were interrogated by the military at Prajak Silpakorn Camp in Udon Thani. During the interrogation, the military officials asked about their motives in issuing the statement. Upon their release, they were forced to sign a document indicating their obligation to immediately present themselves to the authorities once summoned. Other individuals in other provinces including Mahasarakham and Khon Kaen may present themselves and meet the military authorities as summoned later, the TLHR reported in its statement issued on Wednesday. In the statement, "No Reform under the Boot of the Military,' jointly issued on Sunday by 12 human rights, environmental, and community rights organizations based in the North East, such as the Human Rights and Peace Information Centre and Isan Human Rights Media, it denounced the legitimacy of the junta's cabinet led by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, and his apparatus in governing and reforming the country because those apparatus are not connected with the people and human rights violations, especially the censorship are all over the place. The groups also condemned the military government for collaborating with investors, while it uses the martial law to silence people. The first group of the signatories comprised 12 NGOs and 17 individuals. On the TLHR's statement issued on Wednesday, the lawyers expressed concerns as follows: 1. The issuance of the public statement is simply an exercise of the right to freedom of expression guaranteed by Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which provides that everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference and Thailand is obliged to observe it. That the military officials summoned the individuals to meet simply because their issuance of the statement shall inevitably inflict the climate of fear in public and is in itself an act to stifle the right to freedom of expression. 2. Even though Thailand is ruled under Martial which authorizes military officials to hold a person in custody not more than seven days, but the exercise of such power is only possible only to when there is a reasonable ground to suspect that any person is the enemy or violates the provisions of this Act or the order of the military authority. The law does not provide a blank cheque for the military officials to act arbitrarily as it has happened thus far. 3. The act of the military officials simply reiterates that the points raised in the statement by the 12 civil society organizations that under military coup rule, it is impossible for people to hold the state accountable for their policies, laws or any development projects, since even a criticism made in good faith is not allowed. TLHR also demands that the military should stop suppressing the exercise of the right to freedom of expression of the individuals and other groups and repeal Martial Law countrywide as well as observe the rule of law in their governing of the country. Reform shall not take place without an effort to listen to opinions from all parties and without the enforcement of law equally among all people.

On the 4th November 2014, members of North-East based NGOs were summoned and briefly detained by the military. The military action was in response to the issuing of a statement by the NGOs denouncing the military government. During the interrogation of two activists, the military officials asked about their motives in issuing the statement. Upon their release, they were forced to sign a document indicating their obligation to immediately present themselves to the authorities once summoned.

The United Nations Human Rights Office for South East Asia (OHCHR) and other human rights groups have expressed grave concern over the use of criminal defamation lawsuits as a means to pressure human rights defenders. The concern comes following the October 29 decision of the Phuket Provincial Court to proceed with a criminal defamation suit against Surapan Rujichaiwat from Loei province in north-eastern Thailand. The suit has been brought by Tungkum Co Ltd (TKL), a mining company, after Rujichaiwat and other anti-mining activists alleged that TKL was behind an incident of 15 May 2014 where unidentified armed men assaulted villagers, burned tents and huts in mining areas, and passed the blame on to the villagers. TKL has also brought a number of other civil and criminal cases against members of the Khon Rak Ban Koed Group (KRBK), including Porntip Hongchai, who is due to appear at the same court on November 3 on criminal defamation charges.

On the 15th August 2014, anti-mining activists Surapan Rujichaiwat and Porntip Hongchai were sued for defamation by mining company Tungkum Co Ltd (TKL) after they alleged that TKL was behind an incident of 15 May 2014 where unidentified armed men assaulted villagers, burned tents and huts in mining areas, and passed the blame on to the villagers. A Thai court chose to uphold the defamation lawsuit against Rujichaiwat on the 29th October. Hongchai is due to appear in court on the same charges on the 3rd November.

Three human rights lecturers used their academic posts to guarantee the bail requests of "The Wolf Bride' theatre activists charged with l��se majest_. Nevertheless, the court denied the bail requests. This is the fifth time that the two have submitted bail requests. On Tuesday, Phawinee Chumsri, a lawyer representing Patiwat S. and Pornthip M. (aka. Bank and Golf), two theatre activists charged with l��se majest_ for taking part in a political stage play called "The Wolf Bride', submitted bail requests on behalf of her clients with three academics from Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies, Mahidol University, as guarantors. The three academics do not want to be named in the media due to privacy concerns. Phawinee added that three academics who volunteered to be the guarantors of the case know Patiwat and Pornthip personally because they had organized activities and worked with the defendants before. One of the academics, who asked not to be named, told Prachatai that they decided to be guarantors of the defendants because the two should receive the right to bail, which is the basic rights of all defendants, especially since both are young. She added that she was quite concerned after the group of academics were bullied on Facebook after the news was widely shared among royalists. Patiwat and Pornthip were indicted by the public prosecutor last Friday after being held in custody since early August. The deposition and preliminary hearing is scheduled for 29 December. Patiwat is accused of starring in a stage play "The Wolf Bride" centred around a fictional monarch in the role of a Brahmin advisor, while Pornthip was also accused of being involved with the play. The play was performed in October 2013 at Thammasat University, Bangkok, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the 14 October popular uprising. The play was organized by former members of the now-defunct Prakai Fai Karn Lakorn. It is very rare that l��se majest_ suspects are released on bail due to the fact that cases concerning the revered Thai monarchy are viewed by the authorities as related to national security. "For many years Thai courts have regularly refused bail to people awaiting trial for "insulting the monarchy'," Brad Adams, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, said. "The systematic denial of bail for l��se majest_ suspects seems intended to punish them before they even go to trial."

On the 28th October 2014, a Thai court denied bail for the fifth time to Patiwat S. and Pornthip M., two theatre activists charged with l�se majest _ after staging a play called The Wolf Bride. The request was denied despite the support of three human rights academics.

A Thai court dismissed a defamation charge against a British activist Wednesday 29th October in a case linked to a report he co-authored alleging severe labour abuses in Thailand's food industry, a key supplier to Western supermarkets. Andy Hall, 34, had faced up to a year in jail if convicted of defamation - a criminal offence in Thailand - after Thai fruit processing giant Natural Fruit made the complaint against him. Hall's report investigating working conditions at a fruit processing factory belonging to Natural Fruit in southern Thailand levelled accusations of forced and child labour, unlawfully low wages and long hours. But a judge at the Bangkok court said the police probe, which stemmed from an interview with television network Al-Jazeera, was flawed as it did not involve a Thai state prosecutor from the start. "The investigation was not legal, which means the plaintiff has no legal right to file a complaint... the court dismisses the case," the judge - who was not named by the court - ruled. Natural Fruit, a major supplier to the European drink market, has denied the allegations in Hall's report. Hall stands by his research and has accused the company of trying to distract from the report's damning findings through legal action. Ahead of the ruling Hall told AFP he was "very confident" the case would be thrown out. The case related to an Hall's interview with Al-Jazeera over his 2013 report for Finnish rights watchdog Finnwatch called "Cheap Has a High Price". More serious charges await under the computer crime act - which carry up to seven years in jail for each count - and are due to be heard in November. The fruit processor is also seeking $10 million through a civil suit. Prominent European food firms have called for the charges to be dropped, while rights groups have criticised the defamation proceedings from a Thai food industry that has faced a slew of bad headlines over recent months. Accounts have circulated of abuse - particularly inside the fishing industry - of illegal immigrants held captive and forced into unpaid labour, sometimes on boats at sea for years on end without receiving any payment for their work. Thailand has long turned to migrants from poorer neighbours Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos to help keep major Thai industries afloat, from seafood to construction. But they often lack official work permits and are paid below the minimum wage. In June the US State Department downgraded Thailand to its lowest ranking in a report on human trafficking, highlighting abuses in the fisheries industry among others.

On October 29th 2014, British rights activist Andy Hall had a defamation case against him dropped by a Bangkok court. The plaintiff, Thai fruit processing corporation Natural Fruit, filed the defamation case against Hall after he published a report investigating working conditions at a fruit processing factory belonging to Natural Fruit. The report levelled accusations of forced and child labour, unlawfully low wages and long hours.

The military harassed Boonyuen Siritum, consumer rights and energy reform activist, and former senator at her house in a bid to suppress rallies on energy reform. Eight military officers on Wednesday morning raided the house of the former central Samut Songkram elected-senator and accused her of inciting people to stage rallies and being unusually rich. The officers searched the house in Samut Songkhram's Muang District without warrant, claiming that they can search any house under the martial law. Boonyuen was not home when the military arrived. On the same day, Kamolpan Cheewapansri, another energy reform activist led a rally to the Government House, to protest against an unconfirmed report that the government plans to grant renew a petroleum concession. Boonyuen said the military mistook her for being responsible for the rally and insisted that she was not involved with the rally.

On 22 October 2014, Ms. Boonyuen Siritum, consumer rights and energy reform activist, and former senator was harassed by the military officers. They searched her house in Samut Songkhram without warrant to stop planned rallies on energy reform.

The main contractor and partner of the company that runs the Chatree mining complex in Phichit province has threatened to take legal action against activists, accusing them of making false claims about the impact the gold mine has on villagers' health. The move comes after local activists recently submitted a petition bearing the names of 179 villagers to the National Council for Peace and Order, accusing the mine of harming the environment and the villagers' health. The junta ordered an investigation and a hearing into the dispute, including conducting blood and urine tests among villagers. The company accused some of the mine's former employees-turned-activists of orchestrating the anti-mine campaign with the ulterior motive of trying to force Akara Resources, the company that holds the mining concessions in the area, to buy their nearby land holdings at exorbitant prices. "Everybody knows they[the former employees] are motivated by self-interest, and by making these false claims they're jeopardising the livelihoods of several hundred villagers and their families." said Nucharee Sailasuta, the managing director of Lotus Hall Co, the main contractor and partner in the gold-mining operations in the area. Ms Nucharee rejected activists' claims the gold mine has caused environmental and health hazards. "While Lotus Hall welcomes any opportunity to work with the authorities, I will call on them[the authorities] to let common sense prevail and resolve this issue quickly. "We need to secure a prosperous long-term future for my employees, their families and the community," she added. Nantida Sangwal, a protest leader, said the locals are not concerned about the actions of the mining company, since they have been threatened several times in the past. She is facing a defamation suit by the mine operator but prosecutors have yet to indict her. Ms Nantida denied claims the company's former employees were behind the protest, saying the opposition to the mine and the impacts on the community from it have been swelling for a decade, while the company had laid off the employees in question only recently. She said it was not right that the mine operator threatens locals who are seeking help from the junta. "We are asking you[Lotus Hall Co] to improve yourselves, but you come out to intimidate us instead, widening divisions in society," she said. She insisted the mine has hurt the environment. "We even have to buy vegetables from other areas." she said. Source: Bangkok Post (http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/politics/432816/mine-company-threatens-locals-with-legal-action)

On 18 September 2014, local activists were threatened by the gold mine company. Activists will face legal actions for making claims about the impacts of the gold mine on villagers' health.

The military and police on Thursday evening detained four academics and three student activists for organizing and participating in a seminar about the end of dictatorial regimes in foreign countries after forcing the seminar to be stopped. They were released about 9.30pm. The seminar was a part of the political seminar series "Democracy Classroom", organized by League of Liberal Thammasat for Democracy (LLTD), a progressive Thammasat student group. The seminar featured four academics, Nidhi Eoseewong, Prajak Kongkirati, Chaowarit Chaowsangrat, Janjira Sombutpoonsiri. It was held at Thammasat University, Rangsit Campus. After about 30 minutes into the seminar the police came in, detained all of them and brought them to Klong Luang police station. "Today we have to close the classroom now, not because that I don''t want to teach, but as long as we can not make the university the place where ideas can be exchanged, Thai society will have no future," Prajak Kongkirati told the participants before leaving the "classroom.' Before the event was held, the military asked the university to force the students to cancel the event. The university then locked the room earlier assigned for the seminar. The students, however, continued with their plan and held the event at the hall on the first floor of a university building instead. "Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha once told representatives of foreign businessmen that he is not a dictator," posted Piyabutra Saengkanokkul, Thammasat law lecturer and member of the courageous Nitirat law academic group, on his Facebook account on Thursday evening. "The NCPO has never admit it is a dictator. Today's seminar talks about dictators overseas. Why the army and authorities need to be so scared?" This is not the first time that the military tried to stop a seminar at Thammasat. On 8 August, the Thai military 'asked for cooperation' from Thammasat to stop an academic seminar on the interim charter, held by the same group of student activists; however, the university and the event organizers defied the military. A letter, signed by Col Noppadon Tawrit, Commander of the Kings Guard's 1st Field Artillery Regiment, to the university rector, states "the seminar may affect the attempts to solve national conflict", so the university should stop the event in order "to prevent the resurgence of differences in political attitude." Before the event started, there were negotiations between the event organizer, representatives of the university and the police. The resolution of the meeting was that the university would not stop the event and that the student group could hold the event at their own risk. Source: Prachatai (Prachatai

On 18 September 2014, four renowned academic and three student activists were arrested for holding a seminar on dictatorship at Thammasat University's Rangsit campus. They were taken in for questioning by police and released in the evening.

On 24 August 2014, Pornpen Khongkachonkiet, a long-time human rights defender and director of the Cross Cultural Foundation (CrCF), received a warrant summoning her to report to the Yala police station by 25 August 2014. She has postponed her reporting to the Yala police station until later in September. The warrant was in relation to an investigation carried out pursuant to a legal complaint of libel and defamation filed against her by Army Task Force 41. The complaint accuses Pornpen Khongkachonkiet and CrCF of causing damage to the reputation of the Army by disseminating an open letter about a case of torture carried out in southern Thailand. The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is gravely concerned that Army has responded to the work of CrCF defending human rights by threatening legal proceedings, rather than taking necessary action to end and redress torture. The AHRC views the judicial harassment of Pornpen Khonkhachonkiet as another indication of the downward slide and deepening human rights crisis in Thailand. Since the declaration of martial law in southern Thailand in January 2004, the Cross Cultural Foundation has been at the forefront of documenting and calling for justice in cases of torture, enforced disappearance, extrajudicial killing, and other human rights violations. The work of the organization, and especially the work carried out by Pornpen Khongkachonkiet, is in the service of education citizens about their rights, recording rights violations, and pushing for accountability and redress. As part of this work, they routinely document cases and aid victims in filing both formal complaints and disseminating this information to the public via the media. In this case, the complaint was filed by Army Task Force 41 after an open letter which detailed a case of torture of a young man in Yala circulated in public (Some of the details of the open letter were published online by Isra News Agency here). The Army has claimed that the young man was not tortured, and so therefore the open letter constitutes libel and defamation. The judicial harassment of Pornpen Khongkachonkiet is part of a broader pattern of harassment and legal proceedings carried out against those who expose torture, call for accountability and defend human rights in Thailand. The Government of Thailand acceded to the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Degrading or Inhuman Treatment (CAT) on 2 October 2007. As a state party to the CAT, Thailand is obligated to take action to prevent torture, hold perpetrators to account, and provide redress and protection to victims of torture. The AHRC has noted that this is not always the case, such as in the criminal prosecution of Suderueman Maleh, a survivor of torture in southern Thailand, who was sentenced to two years in prison in 2011 after he brought a torture complaint against a police officer who was later cleared of responsibility (AHRC-STM-103-2011). Similarly, when Kritsuda Khunasen, who was arbitrarily detained for nearly a month following the 22 May 2014 coup by the National Council for Peace and Order, released two video interviews detailed her torture and abuse while in military custody, the junta's response was to threaten and discredit her (AHRC-STM-151-2014). The appropriate response in all of these cases would be for the military and government to initiate independent investigations into torture. The Asian Human Rights Commission condemns the judicial harassment of Pornpen Khongkachonkiet and calls for the immediate cessation of the legal proceedings against her. Further, the Asian Human Rights Commission calls on the Thai government to pass the relevant domestic legislation and take action to redress and end torture, in line with its obligations as a state party to the CAT. UPDATE 25/08/2014: Ms. Khongkachonkiet has been able to delay reporting to the police until late September.

On 24 August 2014 Pornpen Khongkachonkiet, a long-time human rights defender and director of the Cross Cultural Foundation (CrCF), received a warrant summoning her to report to the Yala police station by 25 August 2014 in relation to an investigation for libel and defamation against Army Task Force 41. The CrCf works to promote justice in cases of torture, enforced disappearance, extrajudicial killings, and other human rights violations in the south of Thailand. The libel case against Ms. Khongkachonkiet is in relation to an open letter issued by the CrCF detailing the torture of a young man by the military in Yala, which the military claims is unfactual and therefore libelous. This case is representative of a widespread and long-standing effort to suppress efforts to bring violations to light and hold perpetrators accountable in the south of Thailand. UPDATE 25/08/2014: Ms. Khongkachonkiet has been able to delay reporting to the police until late September.

A 1,400km march for energy reform ended almost before it began when military authorities, citing martial law, halted the trek and detained its 12 core organisers. The "Partnership on Energy Reform" group was taken to the Senanarong army camp in Hat Yai district of Songkhla province Wednesday after a second round of negotiations with the 42nd Military Circle failed. Worrapon Worrapan, chief-of-staff of the military circle, told the activists instead to convey their position to policymakers on the soon-to-be-established National Reform Council. "I understand what you're doing, but it's against[martial] law," Col Worrapon told the group. "I don't want to enforce it. Please stop right here and use the right channels.'' The marchers - comprising advocates from Songkhla, Phatthalung, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Surat Thani, Satun, Krabi and Chumphon provinces - are members of an energy-reform network of civic groups based in the South, Central Plains and Northeast. About 100 people began the march, and all but the 20 activists went home after the first day. Led by Ekkachai Issaratha, they had planned to walk 16 to 18 kilometres a day and had hoped to submit their five-point demand list to the National Council for Peace and Order after arriving in Bangkok in approximately 77 to 87 days. The group's main demand is the removal of new coal-fired power plants from the country's energy strategy, both for public health and environmental conservation reasons. Other demands include a shift from the current energy concession system to a production sharing system; establishment of a national company to ensure the public recieves "fair" prices for petroleum products; clearly divided zones for petroleum production, cultivation and tourism; and an accelerated effort to enact a renewable-energy law. Even before hitting the road, activists had to deal with the 42nd Military Circle, which tried to get them to cancel their march, saying it violated the martial law prohibition on political gatherings However, the activists insisted they would continue, arguing that their rally had nothing to do with politics and was not intended to incite public disorder. They did not get far. By Tuesday evening, Mr Ekkachai's group had reached Songkhla's Bang Klam district and set up a small stage to deliver an address on energy reform. He insisted then that he would continue to march until soldiers arrested him. He did not have to wait long. The military relaunched talks in Rattaphum district in the same province. When the marchers refused to stop voluntarily, they were forced to. Twelve key leaders were still detained at the army camp. The fate of the others is unclear. The detained campaigners include Dr Supat Hasuwannakit, director of Chana hospital in Songkhla. Group members wrote on their "Energy for All" Facebook page that the trek was ''temporarily suspended". While Hat Yai lies about 1,000 kilometres from Bangkok, the group did not plan to use the most-direct or shortest route to the capital. Instead, they planned to hike through areas where there were high levels of public awareness on energy reforms. As a result, the total distance of the march was estimated at 1,400 kilometres and would have taken more than two months to complete.

On 20 August 2014 12 environmental and right to health activists were arrested and detained at Senanarong army camp in Songkhla province. The 12 activists were the main organisers of a 1500km-long march from the Songkhla to Bangkok protesting the current government's energy policy. The protestors were intimidated by the military several times earlier in the week, and most abandoned the march in consequence. The remaining group of roughly 20 marchers was forcibly disbanded, with 12 taken into military custody for allegedly violating the prohibition on political gatherings under martial law. The protestors argue that their march is not political, and merely planned to raise awareness. UPDATE 23/08/2014: the military has allowed the march to continue as long as it is conducted by under 5 people, who may only march until 5 p.m. and who may not set up a stage to publicise their protest. 11 of the march's organisers remain in custody. UPDATE 24/08/2014: the march has been cancelled and the military has freed the 11 detained organisers.

Prom Jarana, a land rights activist and member of the Assembly of the Poor, who was detained by the military on Thursday mornng has been released, according to the Assembly of the Poor. The Assembly reported on its Facebook page at 10.30pm that the 65-year-old activist safely arrived his house around 8pm of Thursday. About five military officers at 10.30 am on Thursday detained him at his home in the Buriram Province, after a week of tension between the military and villagers over a land issue, according to the Assembly of the Poor. The military did not inform him why he was arrested or where he would be detained. According to the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH), Prom on Tuesday joined a delegation of the Assembly of the Poor to Bangkok. The delegation gathered at Thai Army headquarters to demand that the ruling junta, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), put an end to the ongoing forced evictions of villagers by army soldiers from six villages of Non Din Daeng District in Buriram. Also on Wednesday, Prom visited Kao Baat, one of the villages affected by the forced evictions in Buriram.

On 17 July 2014 Prom Jarana, a land rights activist and an active member of the Assembly of the Poor, was detained at his house in Buriram at around 10:30 a.m. and released around 8 p.m. Prom has been an active advocate of the land rights of a community in Buriram Province which is currently in a dispute with military authorities. On 15 July, Prom participated in a march to army headquarters demanding a halt to the forced evictions of villagers by the military, and on 16 July he had visited one of the affected villages. It is unclear whether he will face any charges.

Military officers on Saturday detained Thanapol Eawsakul, editor of Fah Deaw Kan (Same Sky) magazine, for another seven days, stating that Thanapol had violated his release order by posting messages on Facebook deemed violating the junta's orders. Several plainclothes officers arrested him at a cafe in Phaholyothin Soi 7 after the military had earlier called him to meet for "a talk" at the cafe. He was put into a private car and taken to the King's Guard, 2nd Cavalry Division in the Sanam Pao area. Later he was taken to the Police Crime Suppression Division where he will be detained under martial law for seven days. Thanapol was earlier arrested on May 23 during an anti-coup protest in front of the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre. Later he was detained for seven days after his name appeared on a summons list in Order No 5 of the National Council for Peace and Order. Those who hvve been summoned and released have had to sign agreements with the military stating that they will not participate in any political activity or travel abroad without permission of the NCPO. According to the rights NGO iLaw, academics from Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Political Science, Assoc. Prof. Puangthong Pawakapan and Asst. Prof. Pitch Pongsawat, were also invited for talks on July 3 and 4 and released on the same day. The two academics led a group called the Assembly for the Defence of Democracy which held anti-coup campaigns and advocated elections prior to the May 22 coup. The NCPO also issued summons to 18 more people, not via a televised announcement as usual, but by sending orders to the homes of those summoned.

On 7 July 2014, Thanapol Eawsakul, the editor of the Same Sky academic journal who has previously faced lese majeste charges, was detained by the Thai military for a second time. Mr. Eawsakul was originally detained on 23 May 2014 and released on 3 June on condition that he not leave the country without permission of the military and that he not engage in any political activity. The military deemed that facebook posts by Mr. Eawsakul violated the terms of his release, and he was forced into an unmarked car by plainclothes police on 7 June for another seven-day detention.

The ultra-nationalist Thai newspaper Manager ASTV has published a "mock column" describing in graphic detail of how prisoners will gang-rape a fugitive anti-coup LGBT activist when she is finally arrested. Published under the newspaper's parody section, known as"Phujadkuan," the mock article describes how the the military junta's National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) will arrest and send LGBT activist Aum Neko to a prison in Bangkok to "return happiness" to the male inmates who have been deprived of sex for years. The article also says that Jakrapob Penkair, a former politician and leader of an anti-coup organisation in exile, will be arrested and sent to prison alongside Ms. Aum, whose real name is Saran Chuichai. "[Mr. Jakrapob and Ms. Aum] will be bestowed to the inmates so they can provide intimate, wet happiness, with thrusts reaching up to their intestines," the article wrote. "We expect that the pair will tour the entire prison and offer their bodily happiness to every prison section, from the first section to the death row section." The article then quoted a fictitious inmate as saying he is longing to be the first prisoner to have sex with Ms. Aum. "Whenever I see nong[sister] Saran, or Aum Neko, I always feel aroused. Judging from her behaviour, I think she has a lot of weird and difficult sex positions. I will try to be the first in the line to have sex with her," the fictitious inmate said as he masturbated, according to the parody piece. Other parts in the article contain threats of gang-raping Mr. Jakrapob, who Manager ASTV has previously not-jokingly accused of being gay. Ms. Aum, who is enrolled at Thammasat University, is a well-known transgender activist who has campaigned for more freedom of expression on campus. She is known for undertaking controversial actions to promote her cause, such as striking a provocative pose in a photo with the statue of Thammasat founder, Pridi Banomyong. Ms. Aum has also spoken out against Thailand's harsh lese majeste (insult of monarchy) laws, as well as the 22 May military coup. The military junta summoned her to report shortly after the coup, but she has refused to turn herself in. Her whereabouts are currently unknown although she continues to criticise the junta on social media. "I strongly condemn this kind of news not because it is about me but because everyone who has a different opinion in this society should not be treated like this," Ms. Aum told Khaosod English. "They[Manager ASTV] live with hatred, not the duty to report the truth. Will we call this action an acceptable thing in the world of so called democracy and humanity?" The "Phujadkuan" section of Manager ASTV newspaper has a history of publishing "mock articles" which include false and libelous remarks about individuals who belong to the political faction that supported the former government. For example, the paper published a fake interview in March quoting a progressive actress as saying she changed her surname to "Shinawatra" in support of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the de facto leader of the political camp that supported the former government deposed in the 22 May coup. The piece also "quoted" the actress, Intira Charoenpura, as urging Mr. Thaksin to form a new country by leading a secession movement in the North. The piece became popular among pro-monarchy Thais, many of whom failed to realise that it was a satire. In 2009 Mr. Thaksin's lawyer pressed charges against Manager ASTV on behalf of his client, accusing the newspaper of defaming Mr. Thaksin by publishing a photo that was doctored to depict the former Prime Minister revealing his testicles.

On 1 July 2014, right-wing ASTV Manager newspaper published a "mock column" which threatened SOGI activist and Lese Majeste critic Saran Chuchai (also known as Aum Neko) with sexual violence. The column described in vivid detail a fictitious future scenario in which Ms. Chuchai, if captured and imprisoned, would be repeatedly raped to "return happiness" to prisoners. Ms. Chuchai was summoned by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) shortly after the coup, but has not reported.

Thai police on Wednesday charged Worachet Pakeerut, a law academic from Thammasat University and member of the courageous Nitirat group, for not reporting to the junta -- on time. He was released from Bangkok Remand Prison at about 6.30 pm on Wednesday. Worachet flew back from Hong Kong to Don Muang International Airport in Bangkok on Monday. The Immigration Police detained him and took him to the Army Club in Theves, Bangkok. He was later taken to the 11th Infantry Regiment for interrogation. On Wednesday at 10.20 am, the military took Worachet to the Crime Suppression Division for interrogation. The police decided to charge him with defying the coup makers' order. At around 1 pm, he was taken to the military court where the police submitted a custody petition. At around 5 pm, the military court granted his bail request. His family put up 20,000 baht in cash as security. The academic was summoned twice on May 24 and June 9. On June 10, Patcharin Pakeerut, Worachet's wife, submitted a letter to the military, saying that Worachet did not intend to flee, and would delay reporting due to his health problems. On June 7, another member of Nitirat, Sawatree Suksri, was detained at Don Muang airport and detained by the military for three days after she returned from a US State Department-sponsored trip to the United States and had not reported when summoned by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). Sawatree, however, was not charged. In March 2012, Worachet was assaulted by royalist twins. The twins said they were dissatisfied with Worachet's staunch opposition to the l��se majest_ law. Nitirat is a group of seven law scholars from Thammasat University. The group has proposed an amendment of the l��se majest_ law in line with human rights principles as well as a draft amnesty bill for political prisoners. UPDATE 10/07/2014: Worachet appeared before court again, where the police's request to extend his detention by another 12 days was granted (for the third time). He was, however, again granted bail.

On 16 June 2014, Worachet Pakeerut, prominent critic of Thailand's lese-majeste laws and member of the oft-persecuted Nitirat (enlightened jurists) group, turned himself in to the military authorities upon his return to Thailand from Hong Kong. Worachet had not reported to the military when summoned on 24 May and 9 June 2014. It is reported that he exited Thailand soon after being summoned and went to Hong Kong, for reasons that remain unclear: it has been contradictorily reported that he was meeting with political activists or that he was receiving medical treatment. On 18 June 2014, after 48 hours of arbitrary detention in Bang Khen, he was taken to the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) headquarters, where he was charged with defying the military junta's orders. He was then produced before a court where prosecutors attempted to have him detained for a further 12 days, but the court granted him 20,000 baht bail. UPDATE 10/07/2014: Worachet appeared before court again, where the police's request to extend his detention by another 12 days was granted (for the third time). He was, however, again granted bail.

Activist Jittra Cotshadet was arrested after she arrived on a flight from overseas at Suvarnabhumi airport on Friday, but denied she violated the order of the military's National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to report to military officials. The 42-year-old labour activist and candidate in the cancelled Feb 2 election was apprehended after she disembarked from a flight from Sweden. Immigration Police asked her to sign a document conceding that she defied the 44th announcement of the NCPO summoning her to report to the military, but Ms Jittra refused to sign it. She was taken to the Crime Suppression Division for formal charge procedures. Ms Jittra, an advocate of bail rights for political prisoners including those on lese majeste charges, departed Thailand on April 24, a day after red-shirt poet Maineung Kor Kuntheera was murdered in Bangkok. "I did not defy the NCPO's order at all. Upon learning I was summoned I reported on June 3 at the Thai embassy in Stockholm, where I have been holidaying with Swedish friends at their invitation," Ms Jittra said. "I think the embassy is part of the Thai state and since I could not get back to Bangkok right away, that's the thing I could do." Ms Jittra rose to prominence as a leader of the labour union at the factory operated by lingerie producer Triumph. She was fired from her job. She endeared herself with the red-shirts when she put up a paper banner saying, "Only good at Talking" in a protest against the government of former prime minister Abhisit Vejjaijva. At the Feb 2 polls, which were later voided by the Constitutional Court, Ms Jittra, a Suphanburi native, ran as a party-list MP for the Palang Prachatipatai (Democratic Force Party). The party was a breakaway from the Pheu Thai Party, which supported the controversial blanket amnesty bill. Ms Jittra and many other red-shirt sympathisers disagreed with a blanket amnesty for all involved in the protests since 2006, because it would also include members of the security forces who shot and killed people during the crackdown on the April-May 2010 protests. The NCPO's 44th announcement at 8.20pm on June 1 summoned Ms Jittra and others to report to them on June s. She said she reported to the Thai embassy in Stockholm on June 3.

On 13 June 2014, Jittra Kotshadet, a prominent labour rights activist and defender of the right to bail (particularly for persons facing lese majeste charges), was arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport as she returned from a holiday in Sweden. She had originally been summoned by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) on June 1, at which point she was already in Sweden. She reported to the Thai embassy on June 3 to explain why she had not reported and promised to report when she returned to Thailand. Despite this, she was arrested immediately when she reached Thai immigration and was subject to attempts to force her to sign a statement to the effect that she had intentionally defied the NCPO's summons.

On May 25, around 3.30 p.m, the army searched the house of Somyot Phueksakasemsuk, editor of a pro-red shirt magazine currently serving 11 years in prison for lese majeste. The army arrested Sukanya Phrueksakasemsuk, Somyot's wife, who has been campaigning for political prisoners, and his son Panitan Phrueksakasemsuk, a fourth-year Law student a Thammasat University and an activist himself, taking them both to the Army Club. According to Sukanya, the army also seized two laptops. Somyot was active in labor movements before becoming the leader of a red shirt faction called June 24 for Democracy. He was sentenced on January 23, 2013, when the court found him guilty of publishing two articles deemed defamatory against the monarchy. UPDATE: Sukanya and Panitan Phueksakasemsuk were released on May 25, around 10 p.m., however their siezed computer laptops were not yet returned. Sukanya posted on her Facebook afterwards on May 26 that they "were asked to refrain from giving interview, joining any protest nor expressing opinions into the public for a while in order to maintain peace."

On May 25 2014, Sukanya and Panitan Phueksakasemsuk, wife and son of Lese Majeste prisoner Somyot Phueksakasemsuk, were arrested by the military and detained at the Royal Thai Army auditorium at Thewes. They were not informed of the reasons for their arrest and were not permitted to access their lawyer. Their home was searched, and their electronics were confiscated. They were released late in the same day, but were forbidden from speaking to the media.

The military on Friday summoned student activists from Khon Kaen University, in northeastern Khon Kaen Province, to have them sign an agreement to stop anti-coup activities. In the North East, the junta has kept a close watch on universities, such as Maha Sarakham and Ubon Ratchathani. The military earlier summoned academics and student activists, and deployed troops on campus. In the latest development at Khon Kaen University on Friday, five leading members of the Dao Din group, which has been very active on the issue of elections, human rights, and local community rights, reported to the military at the 23rd Military Circle at Sri Patcharin Camp. The talks between the military and the student activists first began in the presence of university lecturers and human rights activists. The military expressed concerns about the group's symbolic activities against the coup and asked the students to stop all activities. They were also asked if they were against the coup and why. The military later asked the others to leave and "asked" the students to sign a paper, admitting that their past anti-coup activities violated the military junta's orders and agreeing to stop political activities. The military also asked the students to stop mobilising anti-mine activities in Ban Na Nong Bong village, Wang Sapung district, Loei Province, where the villagers face threats and intimidation for opposing a mine. The students insisted that they will continue to support the villagers. In the end, the military told the five members to have the other four members of the group report to the military in order to "talk" and sign "agreements".

On 6 June 2014, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) summoned 5 student activists from Khon Kaen University and ordered them to desist from any anti-coup activity or any activity related to the Loei province anti-mining movement. The students were asked to sign a document stating that their previous actions had been in contravention of the military's orders and promising to discontinue their activism. This has been the first hint about the NCPO's position on the contestation over mining and environmental degradation in Loei province, in which an officer (Lieutenant General Poramet Pomnak) was allegedly implicated as the leader of the infamous May 16 attack on Ban Na Nong Bong village.

The trimonthly Same Sky journal, an academic journal which constantly criticizes the lese majeste law and the establishment, has sent a letter to its members, saying that they will indefinitely delay the publishing of the journal due to climate of fear. Same Sky editor Thanapol Eawsakul was one of the first people summoned by the military junta. He was arrested for protesting the junta and later detained without charges for seven days. He was also forced to sign an agreement to stop political activities. "The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has enforced censorship measure and control content on media extensively. Under this circumstance, the Same Sky publishing house has been inevitably affected. "Same Sky journal has been targeted. This has created the climate of fear to everyone in the production line. For safety of everyone, Same Sky editorial staff decided to delay the publishing of the new journal. When there is an opportunity again, we will publish and deliver the journal to our members and sell it again." The letter is signed by Thanapol on June 3.

On 3 June 2014, Thanapol Eawsakul, editor of the Same Sky academic journal, addressed a letter to the journal's members informing them that publication was being halted due to fear of reprisals on staff by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). The announcement came just days after Thanapol was released from detention by the NCPO. The Same Sky journal has been vocally critical of Article 112 of the Thai constitution (lese majeste), which severely restricts freedom of expression. The stop in publication marks the latest silencing of freedom of expression activists in Thailand, where the NCPO has summoned and intimidated dozens of people who have been critical of Article 112.

Sawatree Suksri, a law lecturer from Thammasat University and a member of the Nitirat (Enlightened Jurists) group, was arrested at the airport on Saturday after she travelled back from the United States on a US embassy study trip on human rights.She was arrested at Suvarnabhumi airport around 12.30 p.m., shortly after she landed. The Immigration Office detained her while coordinating with the army to take her away. A person close to Sawatree said she travelled to the US before the coup took place on May 22 and planned to report to the military after her return. Sawatree had already informed the University about her intention to report to the military on Monday, June 9. Sawatree was on the May 23 summons list together with Assoc. Prof. Worachet Pakeerut, also a member of the Nitirat group, and Dr. Somsak Jeamteerasakul, a history lecturer from Thammasat University known for his criticism of the monarchy and l��se majest_ law. Worachet and Somsak have not reported themselves to the military. Nitirat is a group of seven law scholars from Thammasat University. In the past, the group has proposed an amendment of the l��se majest_ law in line with human rights principles as well as a draft amnesty bill for political prisoners. UPDATE 10/06/14: Suksri was released from military custody.

On 7 June 2014, Sawatree Suksri, a law lecturer at Thammasat University and member of the Nitirat (Enlightened Jurists) group, was arbitrarily arrested at Suvarnabhumi International Airport on her return from a human rights study trip in America arranged through the US Embassy. She had originally been summoned by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) on May 23, along with professor Worachet Pakeerut, also a member of the Nitirat group, and Dr. Somsak Jeamteerasakul, a history lecturer from Thammasat University known for his criticism of l�se majest _ law. Neither Somsak nor Worachet have reported to the NCPO. Many of those summoned by the NCPO have been critical of Article 112 but have little to do with the main political divide that the NCPO is allegedly addressing through these detentions. UPDATE 10/06/14: Suksri was released from military custody.

Australian journalist Alan Morison has declared he is prepared to go to jail to defend media freedom in Thailand where defamation laws are being increasingly used to silence criticism. ""This is a clear issue of freedom of media and the military exceeding its role in using an onerous law unjustly,'' says Morison, 66, who edits and publishes Phuketwan, a small but popular news website on the resort island of Phuket. A defamation lawsuit launched by Thailand's navy against Mr Morison and his colleague Chutima Sidasathian on Christmas Eve is one of about 1600 defamation cases that were initiated in the south-east Asian country in 2013, many of them by powerful interests. Court records show that of the defamation cases that proceed to trial in Thailand an average of 96 per cent lead to convictions, one of the world's highest rates for the crime. Mr Morison and Ms Chutima could face a maximum five years' jail and fines if convicted under the Computer Crimes Act. If convicted on criminal defamation charges they could be jailed for up to two years. The navy's unprecedented action has prompted criticism from the United Nations, human rights groups, non-government organisations and media outlets and unions both in Thailand and other countries. The charges relate to a story published in Phuketwan in July 2013 that quoted a Reuters news agency investigation alleging that some members of the Thai military were involved in networks smuggling Muslim Rohingya boat people from Myanmar. No action has yet been filed against Reuters, a multinational company, although the navy has said charges against two of its reporters are expected to be laid shortly. Phuketwan has closely followed the plight of the Rohingya who have been described by the UN as among the world's most persecuted people. Mr Morison says he and Ms Chutima have discussed the possibility of going to jail on the principle of media freedom in what would be a David-and-Goliath fight against the navy which has 70,000 active personnel. ""These are trumped up charges. There is an important principle at stake,'' he says. ""The Rohingya have no spokesperson, no leader, but through Phuketwan's ongoing coverage the torment of these people continues to be revealed.'' Mr Morison, a former senior Age editor, sold his apartment in Melbourne and set-up Phuketwan, which provides local and foreign news coverage for Phuket where an average 20,000 Australians holiday each month. If Mr Morison is jailed he would be one of the first editors to be incarcerated in the country since the Bangkok Post's Michael Gorman was jailed for three months over defamation proceedings in the early 1980s. ""The Thai navy's lawsuit is a reckless attempt to curtail journalists' reporting on alleged human trafficking by its officers,'' says Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. ""Unless the government withdraws the case, its impact will be felt far beyond those reporting on abuses against the Rohingya - and could have a choking effect on all investigative reporting in Thailand,'' Mr Adams says. David Streckfuss, an American academic who is an expert on Thai laws, told a recent forum at the Foreign Correspondent's Club of Thailand that use of defamation laws ""have become a kind of way of controlling political discourse in Thailand''. Andrew Drummond, a British investigative reporter in Thailand, said up to 30 foreigners have fled the country following threats of defamation that would involve years of litigation in the courts and thousands of dollars in bail payments. Many of them had been swindled by criminals making the threats, he said. Mr Morison and Ms Chutima, a respected Thai journalist, have formally denied the charges that could take years to be heard in Thai courts. UPDATE: 17 April 2015 The Thai authorities are urged to drop criminal proceedings against two journalists for reporting on trafficking of ethnic Rohingya "boat people", Human Rights Watch said today. "The Thai authorities should direct the navy to unconditionally drop its baseless charges against the two journalists," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "This effort to silence media criticism has backfired against the navy, which should act swiftly to cut its losses." Alan Morison and Chutima Sidasathian, the editor and correspondent of the news website Phuketwan, were charged one year ago, on April 17, 2014, with criminal defamation and the Computer Crimes Act based on a complaint filed by the Thai navy. If convicted on the criminal defamation charges, Morison and Sidasathian could be imprisoned for up to two years. Under the Computer Crime Act, they face a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of up to Bt100,000 (US$3,125). They are scheduled to go to trial on July 14-16. The charges centered on a paragraph in the Phuketwan online newspaper on July 17, 2013, that cited a Reuters investigative report alleging that some navy officials "work systematically with smugglers to profit from the surge in fleeing Rohingya," and that they earn about Bt2,000 (US$63) per Rohingya "for spotting a boat or turning a blind eye." The report was part of a Reuters investigative series on the plight of the Rohingya, an oppressed Muslim minority in Burma, that won a Pulitzer Prize. In the statement released by its New York office, Human Rights Watch said that criminal defamation laws should be abolished, as criminal penalties are always disproportionate punishments for reputational harm and infringe on free expression. "Criminal defamation laws are open to easy abuse, resulting in very harsh consequences, including imprisonment. As repeal of criminal defamation laws in an increasing number of countries shows, such laws are not necessary for the purpose of protecting reputations," it said. It furthered that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Thailand has ratified, guarantees the right to freedom of expression, which includes the right to impart information. The United Nations Human Rights Committee, which monitors state compliance with the covenant, has expressed its concern at the misuse of defamation laws to criminalize freedom of expression and has said that such laws should never be used when expression is without malice and in the public interest. "The Phuketwan journalists are among the few who are still regularly reporting on the pervasive human trafficking of Rohingya in Thailand," Adams said. "Thailand's efforts to show progress in tackling human trafficking are seriously damaged by this shoot-the-messenger action against journalists exposing abuses."

On December 24 2013, the Thai navy filed a libel case against Alan Morison and Chutima Sidasathian, editor and journalist respectively for the Phuketwan newspaper, for allegedly implicating it in the human trafficking of Rohingya people by reproducing a Pulitzer Prize-winning Reuters article on the subject. The case is one of thousands of defamation cases filed in Thailand each year, often by powerful actors seeking to silence criticism. UPDATE 04/04/2014: Morison and Chutima met with members of the National Human Rights Council of Thailand to seek their assistance with the possible upcoming defamation charges by the Thai Navy. The two may be charged under the Computer Crimes Act. UPDATE 05/06/2014: Morison and Chutima will have to wait until March 2015 to face charges of libeling the Thai Royal Navy in court.

The military junta on Sunday night ordered 38 people, including a Prachatai journalist, to report to the military on Monday and Tuesday at the Thai Army Club, Theves. The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), an administrative body under the coup makers, issued Order no. 42-44 at around 9.30 pm. Ten names appear on Orders no. 42 and no. 43, mostly lawyers and politicians. Order no. 44 contains 28 names, most of them having been involved in campaigns to amend/abolish the notorious l��se majest_ law and other left-leaning activities. Prachatai journalist Tewarit Maneechay is included. Before joining Thai-language Prachatai in 2012, Tewarit was active as a political activist and labour unionist. The lists are: Order No. 42/2014: 1. Mr. Karom Phonpornklang, Somyos Pruksakasemsuk's lawyer 2. Mr. Ruangkrai Likhitwattana, Pheu Thai Party member Order No. 43/2014: 1. Police Colonel Narit Sawaengjit 2. Mrs. Noi Daengpao 3. Mss. Karin Prachan 4. Mr. Sittichai Kittinaesaworn 5. Mr. Praphat Chongsongwon, State Railway of Thailand Director and former Pheu Thai candidate for Bangkok Governor 6. Mr. Chakraphan Yomchinda, executive of MCOT TV 7. Mr. Banyat Yenjaichuay 8. Mr. Narongsak Plai-aram Order No. 44/2014 1. Mr. Suthachai Yimprasert, lecturer at Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Arts and a key red-shirt figure 2. Mr. Kengkij Kitirianglarp, lecturer at Chiang Mai University's Faculty of Political Science, and activist at the left-leaning Prakaifire group. 3. Mr. Ratchaphong Ochaphong, activist at Prakaifire group 4. Mr. Tewarit Maneechay, activist at Prakaifire group and journalist at Prachatai 5. Ms. Ulairat Chuduang 6. Mr. Amarin Sairam 7. Mr. Niphon Phadungsilpphairot 8. Mrs. Pranee Danwattananusorn, wife of Surachai Danwattananusorn, a former l��se majest_ prisoner 9. Mr. Kittisak Sujittharom, former student activist at the Student Federation of Thailand (SFT) 10. Ms. Jittra Cotchadet, union rights activist, key red-shirt figure, and former Triumph Thailand Union President and founder of Try Arm, a workers' cooperatives. 11. Mrs. Salilthip na Phattalung, activist at Prakaifire group 12. Mr. Suwat Lambutr 13. Mr. Seriphap Sunthornchaiphak 14. Mr. Pritnarinthorn Thonburiboonsuk 15. Mr. Sarawut Phuthornyothin 16. Mr. Wanchai Chongcharoonhiran 17. Mr. Thanaporn Sriyakul, leader of the Commoner People Party, which proposed to amend the l��se majest_ law, among other progressive policies. 18. Mr. Pruek Prueksunan 19. Mr. Phiphat Phansuwan 20. Mrs. Yuphin Kongchandee 21. Mr. Chalieo Chankied 22. Mr. Sriphop Kornarut 23. Mr. Ekaraj Netradee 24. Mr. Panya Surakhamchornroj, owner of an independent broadcasting service which usually presents live red-shirt and academic seminars. 25. Mr. Wanchaloem Satsaksit 26. Mr. Thanat Srinithikosit 27. Capt. Surapol Nawamawat 28. Mr. Kothawut Buraphitak Prakaifire is a network of left-leaning activists, most of whom are labor rights activists and former student activists.

On 1 June 2014, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) summoned 38 persons, several of whom are human rights defenders. Notable among those summoned are: Mr. Karom Phonpornklang (Somyos Pruksakasemsuk's lawyer); Mr. Kengkij Kitirianglarp, Mrs. Salilthip na Phattalung, and Mr. Ratchaphong Ochaphong (activists with the left-leaning Prakaifire group); Tewarit Maneechay (activist at Prakaifire group and journalist at Prachatai); Mrs. Pranee Danwattananusorn (wife of Surachai Danwattananusorn, a former l�se majest _ prisoner); Mr. Kittisak Sujittharom (former student activist at the Student Federation of Thailand); Ms. Jittra Cotchadet (union rights activist, former Triumph Thailand Union President and founder of Try Arm, a workers' cooperative); Mr. Thanaporn Sriyakul (leader of the Commoner People Party, which proposed to amend the l�se majest _ law). These summons are consistent with the NCPO's targeting of human rights defenders who are often not immediately connected to Thailand's political stalemate.

A graduate student from Thammasat University was charged on Friday with lese majeste offence after he was detained for seven days after protesting the coup last week. The police claimed the military had received evidence taken from the defendant's Facebook post. Apichart (last name withheld) was taken to Bangkok Remand Prison on Friday after the court denied him bail, citing flight risk. The 25-year-old man was also charged with Section 14 of Computer Crime Act and violation of the junta's order. Despite guarantee from Deputy Dean of Thammasat University Parinya Tewanarumitkul, the court rejected it saying that their relationship is not as close as relatives. He was arrested on May 23 when he joined the anti-coup protest in front of Bangkok Art and Cultural Center, and later was detained at the Police's Crime Suppression Division in Bangkok. Apichart works as an intern for The Law Reform Commission of Thailand. UPDATE 2/06/2014: Mr.Apichart was denied bail by the Criminal Court for the second time. His mother had put forward 500,000 baht and another 500,000 through the Government Savings Bank Lottery, but the court ruled that flight risk remained high.

On May 30 2014, Mr. Aphichat, a graduate of Thammasat University and employee of the Legal Reform Commission of Thailand, was charged with Lese Majeste, violation of Section 14 of the Computer Crimes Act, and violation of the junta's orders. Mr. Aphichat was initially arrested on May 23 for having participated in an anti-coup protest and has been in military custody since then. He was denied bail allegedly due to risk of flight, despite the Deputy Dean of Thammasat University's offer to be his guarantor. UPDATE 2/06/2014: Mr. Aphichat was denied bail by the Criminal Court for the second time. His mother had put forward 500,000 baht and another 500,000 through the Government Savings Bank Lottery, but the court ruled that flight risk remained high. The charges against Mr. Aphichat are reportedly related to posts he had made on facebook. UPDATE 23/06/2014: Mr. Aphichat has been released after a police request to renew his custody petition was denied by the criminal court. The police had hoped to extend Mr. Aphichat's custody to allow them to gather more evidence, but the court ruled that Mr. Aphichat should be released to allow him to take care of his mother, submit his graduate thesis, and continue his work as an officer with the Law Reform Commission of Thailand.

Hundreds of masked men have attacked villagers in Loei province who are protesting chemical contamination from a local gold mine. Witnesses said over 300 assailants stormed barricades set up by villagers in Na Nong Bong village in Wang Sapung district last night. The barricades were intended to block operations at the nearby gold mine owned by Tungkum Company. The incident is the latest development in the long-running dispute between the villagers and Tungkam Company, which is a subsidary of the mining giant Tongkah Harbour Public Company Ltd. For almost ten years, Na Na Bong villagers have tried to shut down the mine because of the widespread contamination of lethal substances they say its operation has caused. In 2013, Na Nong Bong villagers erected the "Wall of Heart" barricade to stop trucks from entering the mine. Last night's masked attackers, many of whom were armed according to the witnesses, quickly overwhelmed the 200 villagers who were guarding the barricade. At least 30 villagers were held hostage at gunpoint while the masked assailants proceeded to dismantle the barricades. Angsana Puangpaiwan, a 22-year-old resident, said the attackers arrived on two pick-up trucks and four minivans. "Dozens of shots" were fired into the air to frighten the villagers, Ms. Angsana said. When other villagers learned about the confrontation at the barricade, they rushed to the scene and attempted to help those who were being held hostage by the armed assailants, Ms. Angsana said. However, the perpetrators reportedly charged at the crowd of villagers, beating the group back. During the clash, a convoy of twelve 18-wheeler truckers drove past the remnants of the barricades into the gold mine, presumably to collect the mined ores left behind by the company's employees. Rows of armed, masked men guarded the convoy while the minerals were being collected. After the convoy left, the militants reportedly released their hostages and forced villagers to delete any images of the clash from their cellphones. Some villagers were also forced to surrender their cellphones to the armed men. Over 40 villagers were reportedly injured in the assault, and they were only transported to hospital after the perpetrators left the scene, witnesses say. The villagers pressed charges at Wang Sapung Police Station this afternoon, accusing the perpetrators of attempted murder, assault, and theft. Na Nong Bong residents began their protests against the mine in 2006 after some of them began suffering illnesses they suspected were caused by the nearby operation of the Tungkam gold mine. From 2007-2011, studies by local authorities and environmental agencies reported a widespread contamination of deadly substances such as lead, arsenic, mercury, cadmium, and cyanide in the area adjacent to the gold mine. Despite the published studies and a lawsuit filed by the villagers to the Administrative Court, the Tungkam gold mine was permitted to continue its operation. Frustrated by the lack of concrete response from the authorities and the company, Na Nong Bong villagers erected the "Wall of Heart" barricade in late 2013. Tungkam Company hit back with a lawsuit to the Loei Provincial Court, accusing the village's leaders of obstructing the company's enterprise. The lawsuit also demands 50 million baht in damages from the villagers.

On the night of 15-16 May, residents of Na Nong Bong village blocking the road to a gold mine were attacked by at least 200 masked and armed men. The villagers have been blocking the road to the mine since late 2013 due to the environmental and health effects of the operation. The mine is owned by Tungkam Company, which has approached the dispute with villagers in an extremely aggressive and confrontational manner. UPDATE 30/05/2014: a group of environmental activists and villagers from Loei province have filed charges with the Central Administrative Court regarding the issuing of permits to mining companies in the province. They are seeking to have the mines cease all activities, void permits allowing them to use forest land, and force them to rehabilitate the water table damaged by the mine. UPDATE 30/05/2014 (2): the Khon Rak Ban Koed Group, an association assisting six villages in Loei province battling mining corporations, reported that it had received information that an assassin had been hired to kill 8 of its members. UPDATE 5/06/2014: the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of Thailand has urged police to conduct a speedy investigation into the attack and the death threats. Police have issued warrants for two of the roughly 300 men who carried out the attack.

Military authorities in Thailand should immediately release a local journalist who was taken into military custody on Sunday after being summoned for questioning, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Military authorities have summoned and detained dozens of politicians, political activists, and outspoken academics following the military's seizure of power from Prime Minister Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisan's caretaker administration on May 22, The Associated Press reported. Most of the detainees are accused of being associated with the ousted government, the report said. In the roundup over the weekend, at least 35 individuals, including at least one journalist, were summoned for questioning. Many have been detained, according to reports. On Saturday, Pravit Rojanaphruk, columnist for the English-language daily The Nation, was summoned by the National Peace and Order Maintaining Council, Agence France-Presse reported. He and his lawyer were detained when they responded to the summons the next day, the reports said. Their whereabouts are unknown, according to local reports. No charges have been disclosed. Pravit has written stories criticizing Thailand's l��se majest_ law for several years, reports said and has been critical of the recent coup. On Monday, Thailand's military leader, Army Commander General Prayuth Chan-ocha, was endorsed by the royal family, which is seen as instrumental in legitimizing power, reports said. L��se majest_ laws, which shield Thailand's royal family from criticism, carry prison penalties of up to 15 years. "Journalists are vital to the flow of information, particularly during this time of political upheaval," said CPJ Deputy Director Robert Mahoney. "It's not the army's job to decide what news organizations can publish. The detention of Pravit Rojanaphruk sends a chilling message, which must not stand. He should be released immediately." On Tuesday, Thai military authorities summoned two journalists for questioning, accusing them of asking Gen. Prayuth "inappropriate" questions in a news conference, according to reports. The journalists, who were only identified in news reports as working for Thairath and Bangkok Post, were not detained. On May 22, military officers detained Wanchai Tantiwitthayapithak, deputy director of Thailand Public Broadcasting Service, after he aired news on YouTube despite military orders not to broadcast. Wanchai was later released, according to local reports.

On 24 May 2014, Pravit Rojanaphruk, columnist for The Nation newspaper, was detained along with his lawyer by the Thai armed forces. His detention is likely related to his outspoken criticism of Thai Lese Majeste laws. Numerous politicians and academics critical of Lese Majeste have been summoned and/or detained by the military since the May 22 coup.

On 12 May 2013, Mr. Suraswadi reportedly gave a media interview while checking the status of preparations of the 2nd Asia-Pacific Water Summit, warning environmental activists, water-resources activists, and other members of civil society that they would be arrested if they protested at the upcoming 2nd Asia-Pacific Water Summit. He allegedly stated that "if you come to protest you will be arrested; do not come to protest. Those who violate this instruction will be arrested; this is not a place for demonstration. . . Do not come, it is against the law and I will order your arrest.Those people in Chiang Mai should not allow these garbage-like people to clutter up the meeting, follow what I just said". 28/05/2013- JAL sent by the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; and the Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation. No response has been given as of May 2014.

On 12 May 2013, Mr. Plodprasop Suraswadi, Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister, reportedly gave a media interview prior to the 2nd Asia-Pacific Water Summit in Chiang Mai from 14 to 20 May 2013, warning environmental activists, water-resources activists, and other members of civil society that they would be arrested if they protested at the Summit. 28/05/2013- JAL sent by the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; and the Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation. No response has been given as of May 2014.

On 5 March, Ekkachai Hongkangwan, a political activist, got hit again in the head after attending a hearing with the Medical Council of Thailand against Dr. Rienthong Nanna. Two people rode a bike without a registration sign to approach Ekkachai. The biker wore black jacket and a helmet, while another one at the back wore camouflage mask and clothes. One of them battered Ekkachai in the head with a stick, and another was coming with an iron pipe. Fortunately, a good citizen intervened, so the offenders fled away before having a chance to use it. This is the sixth time that Ekkachai was physically assaulted. Earlier, his car was also torched in front of his house. Ekkachai had injury in the head and bruises in his arms and arrived at Phra Nang Klao Hospital with a help from rescuers. When it happened, the political activist was leaving the Medical Council of Thailand at 16.00 after having a hearing with an ethical committee to launch an investigation against Dr. Rienthong Nanna, the director of Mongkutwattana Hospital. He had filed a complaint on 17 January in order to revoke Rienthong's medical license on the ground of discrimination, verbal abuses, and posting inappropriate statements on Facebook. These actions, Ekkachai claimed, are against the medical ethics. Rienthong Nanna is a chairman of Rubbish Collection Organisation (RCO), the ultra-royalist vigilante group very active in enforcing lese majeste law and promoting royalist agenda. In January, Rienthong has threatened a lecturer at the College of Politics and Governance, Mahasarakham University after posting in support of the election in the context of its delay and coronation scheduling. After the threatening, Ekachai and Chokchai wanted to talk to Rienthong, leading to a debate on street about that issue as well as everything else that was happening.

On 5 March 2019, Ekkachai Hongkangwan, a political activist, got hit again in the head after attending a hearing with the Medical Council of Thailand against Dr. Rienthong Nanna.

The National Legislative Assembly on Thursday passed the cybersecurity bill in its second and third readings with 133 votes in favour and 16 abstentions. The bill gives authorities the right to bypass court orders in "critical" situations. The NLA spent two hours and 20 minutes considering and voting on the bill, which had been amended by the scrutiny committee. No one opposed the bill, with speakers only seeking detailed explanations on some points. A vote was called on each of the 81 sections of the bill. Its more important content includes the establishment of the National Cybersecurity Commission, to be chaired by the prime minister. The panel will set policies. There will also be a committee to supervise cybersecurity. The minister of digital economy and society will head it. The committee is authorised to order subordinates to gather information, documents and witnesses to support analyses on cybersecurity threats. The bill also empowers the secretary-general of the National Cybersecurity Commission to send officials to places believed to be involved in critical cybersecurity threats, without having to seek court permission. Relevant courts could be informed of such actions afterwards. The secretary-general of the commission and the cybersecurity supervisory committee can also continuously demand up-to-date information from parties related to cybersecurity threats and such parties must cooperate, under the provisions of the legislation. It will become law when published in the Royal Gazette.

On 28 February 2019, The National Legislative Assembly on Thursday passed the cybersecurity bill. Rights groups have expressed concern over this law and its potential to breach people's ability to exercise their right to freedom of expression

Three Thailand WHRDs, Ms.Angkhana Neelapaijit, Ms.Pornpen Khongkachonkietand Ms.Anchana Hemmina, have been subject to intimidation, harassment and death threats on the Internet Concerning Ms. Angkhana Neelapaijit: On 14 November 2016, a Facebook webpagewas createdcalled"Jampen Tong Khatjai Naeoruam BRN", which can be translated as: "It is necessary to oppose separatist movements in the Deep South of Thailand". The webpage published an article, entitled: "Treason of the country", together with the photo of three individuals, including Ms. Neelapaijit, warning readers that, during popular festivals, violence might be caused by those appearing in the photo. On 9 April 2017, shortly after the NHRCT was downgraded from A to B grade status, the Chairperson of the NHRCT issued a statement in which it was suggested that some Commission's members might be responsible for the downgrade, were"working for foreigners" and "undermined the nation". While the name of Ms.Neelapaijit did not appear, she was allegedly one of the Commissionerstargeted by the statement. On 22 May 2017, a Facebook webpage called "E Ngo" posted a message with a manipulatedphoto of Ms.Neelapaijit titled: "Netizen condemned the NHRCT for their inaction after a bombing incident in a hospital". It further stated that the Commissioner was only active in issues related to Red-shirt activists or in cases related to "political assembly". Some comments posted under the text were reportedly threatening the NHRCT and its members.On 1 June 2017, several news websites claimed that Ms.Neelapaijit had provided comments in support of a karaoke hostess accused of having committeda murder. Some threatening comments were posted under a number of news articles. It is reported that on 7 June 2017, Ms.Neelapaijit filed a complaint to the Technology Crime Suppression Division. Following the complaint, several online news outlets reportedly removed the story or the edited photo of Ms.Neelapaijit. Concerning Ms.Pornpen Khongkachonkiet and Ms.Anchana Heemmina: Since October 2016, the online blog "Conditions in South Thailand" has regularly published content discrediting the work of Ms.Khongkachonkietand Ms.Heemmina. Death threats were also posted online against Ms.Khongkachonkiet .On 16 October 2016, an article, entitled "Unveiling: Extremist organisations supporting criminals", was posted online, together with an edited photo of Ms.Khongkachonkiet. The article stated that Ms.Khongkachonkiet's organisation had "disgraced the nation" and "sold information to foreigners". In the article it was stated that "These people do not deserve to be Thai. People like you are a burden to this country; your existence is worthless because it never benefits the society. You should die." On 22 October 2016, an article posted on this blog, with an edited photo of Ms.Khongkachonkiet and Ms.Heemmina, suggested that the two human rights defenders were involved in the separatist movement and carried out activities that were aimed to "discredit" the operations of the authorities. On 5 June 2017, the same blog published an article claiming that a report on human rights presented by Ms.Khongkachonkiet and Ms.Heemmina containedfalse information. On 10 July 2017, another article claimed that the two defenders had bias toward authorities' operations in the south of Thailand and were publishing false reports with the view to accessing positions in international organisations.In January 2017, a Facebook webpage called "Pom Chaidaen Tai" ("Controversial issues in the Deep South") posted an edited photo of Ms.Khongkachonkiet, together with an offensive article and comments that were stating: "(Pornpen)... does not deserve to be born as a Thai"; "She is a hell beast"; "A fucking whore betraying the nation"; and "Jail is coming for you." On 16 June 2017, a Facebook webpage called "Tob-Jote-Jone-Tai-BRN", which can be translated as: "A Facebook page against insurgency in the Deep South Thailand", was posted online. The post, which contained photos of Ms.Neelapaijit, Ms.Khongkachonkiet and Ms.Heemmina, alleged that the three women human rights defenders had not appropriately responded to violence in the south of Thailand. Some comments under the post described them as "supporters of insurgency", "skunks of society", and "scum", among other derogatory terms. It is reported that Ms.Khongkachonkiet and Ms.Heemmina are subject to online harassment since the publication, in 2016, of a report alleging torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in the south of Thailand between 2014 and 2015, in which they were identified as co-editors. It is reported that the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) Region 4 filed a lawsuit against them for the offense of defamation and publication of false information on the Internet. Despite public announcements that the complaint had been withdrawn by the authorities, the lawyer of the defenders reportedly learnt that the lawsuit is currently still valid. It is further reported that on 1 July 2017, plainclothes men believed to be military personnel visited Ms.Heemmina's family shop and warned her not to post comments about human rights violations on social media. On 31 August2017, Ms. Khongkachonkiet met withthe Deputy Commander of ISOC Region 4 in the context of a meeting between human rights NGOs and military officials to discuss the establishment of a Joint Committee to look into alleged human rights violations in the Deep South of Thailand. Ms. Khongkachonkiet raisedthe issue ofonline threats against her and Ms. Heemmina, and asked for measures to be appliedin order to stop this harassment. The Deputy Commanderresponded that the proposed Joint Committee wouldbe looking into it.

Beginning 16 Octiber 2016, a number of WHRDs, including Ms.Angkhana Neelapaijit, Ms.Pornpen Khongkachonkietand Ms.Anchana Hemmina, have been subject to online harassment

A well-known human rights commissioner has lodged a complaint against online news outlets over fake news about her comments on a karaoke hostess accused of committing a gruesome murder. On 7 June 2017, Angkhana Neelapaijit, a National Human Rights Commissioner, filed a complaint to the Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) against online media sites which allegedly violated her rights. According to the Bangkok Post, the names of the media sites were not revealed, but Angkhana Facebook account shows tvpoolonline.com and Khaophisit.com running the same story on June 2 over her comments on the high-profile murder case. The news websites did not quote her, but only stating that she defended the murder suspects. The news led a social media sabotage against her. Tvpool later removed the story, admitting that it was fake news on last Saturday, but Khaophisit.com still ran the news until Wednesday. Amid demands from many Facebook users that the murder suspect be executed, the human rights commissioner had publically besearched Thai society to let her and the judicial system work its course. She emphasised that is not demanding damages, and only wants people to learn to respect different views. She also wants to observe how the TCSD itself works to protect human rights as the case is directly related to the Computer Crime Act. One the case, Preeyanuch "Preaw' Nonwangchai stands accused of murdering and dismembering Warisara Klinjui, a 22-year-old karaoke bar worker on 23 May. Two others, Kawintha "Earn' Ratchada and Aphiwan "Jae' Sattayabundit, have been accused of being accomplices. The three were arrested on Saturday.

On 2 June 2017, Angkhana Neelapaijit, a National Human Rights Commissioner, had false information criculated about her over her comments on the high-profile murder case.

In letter addressed to President Sirisena a well known Sri Lankan human rights activist and writer Sydney Marcus Dias has detailed the ordeal he was forced to go through at the Bangkok Airport Authorities when he with his family wne for a 6 day holiday in the country. All of them has been given visa to enter the country by the Thai Embassy in Colombo only to be returned back immediately. The letter follows: Dear Sir I decided to send my complain to you first as in my passport there is a prior statement of the president of Sri Lanka as "The President of the democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka requests and inquiries all those whom it may concern to allow the bearer to pass freely without let or hindrance and to afford the bearer such assistance and protection as may be necessary". When I went to visit Thailand with my family to a 6 days tour on 15th of this month (15-02-2019) we were deported violating your request and also our human rights. As soon as I entered the airport the immigration officers who were in alert with a placard with my name on it and a phone screen with my photograph, caught me and told me that I have been barred to enter Thailand for 100 years. When I asked the reason they told me that I have joined illegal campaign activity in 1994.This unbelievable and unagreeble decision made our whole journey a tragedy. In 1994 I got a chance to participate an international conference which was to be held in Manila, Philippines, organized by the IID (Initiatives for International Dialogue in Philippines). It was organized to support the East Timor Freedom Campaign with the participation of hundreds of international human rights activists. But at the last moment it was banned by the Philippine government with the pressure of Indonesian government. So the Philippine government deported all the international delegates from the airport itself. From Sri Lanka Mr. Freddy Gamage (Now works as Web journalist), Mr Manel Rathnayake (A former President of Uwa Provincial Council and present chairmen of library service board in Uwa) and myself were to participate this conference. Mr Freddy Gamage flew through Singapore Air Lines and he was forcedly deported Colombo directly by the same flight. Myself and Mr Manel flew in Thai Air lines. We were deported to Bangkok because we had a transit in Bangkok. Our next flight was scheduled on following day and we were given arrival Visa to enter the Country. We stayed one night outside and returned to Colombo. This is the true incident that happened in 1994. I had not done any activity against Thailand government there or thereafter so far. As the Thai Imigration officers said I had supported the East Timor freedom movement. I do not know how it is relevant to the Thai Government to banned my visa for 100 years. Already while East Timor has become an independent state why I have been banned blacklisted further by the Thai government. Only connection to this incident with Thailand is our travelling was done in Thai Airlines. Also we did not have any issue between this travelling or transit period. We went to Thailand with pre scheduled Visa. All our passports have stickered visa which we got from Thai Embassy of Colombo valid from25 January-24-April 2019. When we planned our visiting places within the six days except the special popular places we had planned to visit food technology practices as my elder daughter (Medical student )is very keen on it. And we planned to visit Thai traditional textile industry as my younger daughter is studying on Textile engineering. I had a special attention on Recycling: Especially carpentry waste recycling. Mr Upali Mahagedara Gamage who had worked in Thailand as the coordinator of ACFERD helped me to find some fellows to facilitate to this task. I wanted to make this trip more value added and let my two daughters and my wife to enjoy and let them to buy what they are very keen. So I took hardly earned 2253 $ with a passport entry. Though I am a Peace worker and peace trainer in Sri Lanka after I was caught in Bangkok Airport I was treated as to a terrorist. They forced me to come to an urgent decision to deport me without my family. They told me my family members can be allowed to enter the country. But the whole program was planned to go under my leadership and how can they (Three women) manage without me at night in Bangkok City. Then I said if I am not allowed to enter the country all we want to go back together. Then they told me till they do the arrangements I had to be taken into a detention room and my family can stay in the transit area. Then I was taken to the detention room where I had to tolerate bad smell of urine and intolerable cold. I was not given any food for dinner except small mineral water bottle. To tolerate the cold I had to cover my body with a pillow and bed sheet hackneyed by so many others. I suffered throughout the night without food, bad smell and intolerable cold while I was to pay 743 Thai Barth for the detention room charge. The security officers were very unfriendly and impolite. I got small pack of food for the breakfast. I was taken to the flight following day at the last moment after delay in so much time in immigration office. Then I asked them I should give some money to my family members as they had not enough money even to get food. They told me that I can give them money at the boarding gate. I was accompanied to the boarding gate at the last moment then I saw my wife and two daughters were too shocked and crying. My wife and two daughters were helpless thought the night wearing the same cloth, without food and without a place to sleep. They had spent whole night sleepless on chairs in the transit area. My Wife is a diabetic patient and unable to bare such shocks. They were ill-treated by the staff there and one female worker had grabbed my wife's water bottle and put it into the dustbin. For the full letter please see:[Sri Lanka Brief](http://srilankabrief.org/2019/02/sri-lanka-hrd-detained-overnight-treated-as-a-terrorist-and-deported-back-by-thailand-without-any-reason/

On 15 February 2019, Sydney Marcus Dias, well known Sri Lankan human rights activist and writer, was detained at Bangkok airport before being subsequently deported

On 2 February 2019, students Parit "Penguin' Chiwarak from Thammasat University and Tanawat Wongchai, from Chulalongkorn University, went to Government House to call on Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to resign. The students read a statement, then hung chilies, salt, and garlic on the fence of Government House. "If you look just at the national interest, today Thailand's reputation has declined because you have postponed the election so many times that we have lost credibility. Since the election is now set, we want it to be free, honest, and fair," said Parit. Speaking of the things brought to the protest, he said "garlic, according to western beliefs, can chase away blood-sucking vampires, but we are not sure if it can chase away tax-sucking vampires, power-sucking vampires and democracy-sucking vampires. Today, let's see if it works. Police arrived at the scene to arrest the two students, and pressed charges under Article 10 of the 2015 Public Assembly Act, claiming that they had failed to give 24 hours advance notice of the protest. Police also took the chilies, salt, and garlic as evidence. They released students at 21.00 and investigators will later summon them to Dusit District Court. The protest was a response to Prayut's earlier statement - "oust me if you can, jerk" - on 1 February 2019 at 11.00 while delivering a speech on the government's 4-year record. Even though Prayuth apologized that afternoon for being rather out of line, it was too late. The two students had already tweeted that they would accept the challenge to oust the PM. The next day, Ekkachai Hongkangwan supported the students by hanging a plastic bag of mangoes on the fence of Government House, saying "one should eat mango with chilies and salt." In Thailand, chilies and salt make a favourite dip for mangoes.

On 2 February 2019, students Parit __�Penguin' Chiwarak from Thammasat University and Tanawat Wongchai, from Chulalongkorn University, went to Government House to call on Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to resign and was arrested as a result.

Last Friday, January 25, 2019, former political prisoner, Truong Duy Nhat, was last seen at the office of the UN HCR - The Refugee Agency in Bangkok, Thailand. Nhat was there to register himself as an asylum seeker after leaving Vietnam earlier in the month. According to his family and friends, no one had heard from him since last Saturday, and they could not contact him. Nhat has been in Thailand for about 21 days, said his family. The family was able to confirm that Nhat was not held by Thailand's IDC (Immigration Detention Center). They also obtained further information today that Thai authorities, up to this point, did not arrest Nhat either. Nhat's phone number in Thailand is not turned off, but no one answered the calls. His wife and daughter are worried about his safety and well-being as they are still unable to get in touch with him. Truong Duy Nhat was sentencedto two-year-imprisonment in 2014 under Article 258 of the 1999 Penal Code. Nhat was arrested in May 2013 and held in detention until his trial. The government alleged some of his blog entries on the Blog "Another Point of View" (M?t G�_c Nh��n Kh��c) was "abusing democratic freedoms to infringe the interest of the state". His blog was indeed critical of the government and the leaders of the Vietnamese Communist Party. One of the entries was published in April 2013, calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and the VCP's General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong for their perceived political and economic mismanagement. After his release in 2015, Nhat continued with his blogging and resided in Da Nang, Vietnam. Nhat's wife is still in Vietnam, but his daughter is studying in Vancouver, Canada. They are asking members of the public to come forward with any useful information regarding his whereabouts.

On 25 January 2019, Truong Duy Nhat, former political prisoner, disappeared; he was last seen at the office of the UN HCR - The Refugee Agency in Bangkok, Thailand.

Thailand is set to deport the president of a construction workers union who helped produce a documentary about sex trafficking back to Cambodia, where his wife said Tuesday he will face political persecution amid a wider crackdown on labor activists by Prime Minister Hun Sen. Rath Rott Mony, the 47-year-old head of the Cambodian Construction Workers Trade Union Federation (CCTUF), was detained in Bangkok on Dec. 7 while attempting to seek asylum at a visa office for the Netherlands by Thai police acting on a formal request by Cambodia's government. Cambodian authorities said he abetted the production of fake news after he helped Russia Today (RT) film a documentary released in October called "My Mother Sold Me," which tells the stories of impoverished families in Cambodia who hawked the virginity of their daughters, who were later forced into prostitution. One of the mothers portrayed in the film, Kav Malay, later recanted her story and said she had been paid to say she sold the virginity of her daughter Khieng Sreymich in the documentary. On Tuesday, Rath Rott Mony's wife Long Kimheang told RFA's Khmer Service that she had been informed by a United Nations Human Rights officer in Thailand that her husband is being held at an immigration detention center in the country, and that Cambodian authorities will come to take him home in "about one week." She said her husband has been denied access to a lawyer while in detention and believes he is being targeted for his activism representing Cambodian construction workers, adding that he is likely to be jailed without a fair investigation of his alleged crime once he is returned home. Both Long Kimheang and RT have said the documentary shows the truth about sex trafficking in Cambodia, despite Kav Malay changing her story. Serey Pich, a woman featured in the documentary, told RFA that neither she nor anyone else in the film received money from Rath Rott Mony or RT to tell their stories, and questioned why Kav Malay and her daughter said they had. "This is the true story of my life-I kept it inside me for too long and I appreciate the opportunity to get it off my chest," she said. "Rath Rott Mony is innocent. I am shocked to hear about his arrest in Thailand and I don't understand why Khieng Sreymich testified against him." RT told the Khmer Times on Monday that it was concerned by Rath Rott Mony's detention and was working to resolve the situation, including via diplomatic channels. The same day, Khieu Sopheak, a spokesman for Cambodia's Interior Ministry, said the union leader would be deported as soon as possible, noting that he had "committed a crime" and defamed his country. "Action should be taken against him," he said, adding that Rath Rott Mony "will not be free." On Tuesday, Brad Adams, New York-based Human Rights Watch's Asia director, urged Thailand to immediately release Rath Rott Mony and allow him to seek protection from the United Nations refugee agency. "Thailand should not do Cambodia's bidding by forcibly returning an outspoken activist who exposed police failures to stop abuses and child sex trafficking," Adams said in a statement. Human Rights Watch noted that Thai authorities have regularly collaborated with Cambodia's government to arrest and forcibly return exiled dissidents who fled to Thailand to escape persecution under Hun Sen. "It is critically important for Thai authorities not to put Mony into harm's way in violation of international law," the group said. Union leaders Meanwhile, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Tuesday sentenced six prominent union leaders to 36-month suspended prison terms for "acts of violence" and "property damage" during a January 2014 strike by garment workers in the capital over wages that was broken up when police shot and killed four people, and ordered them to pay a combined fine of 35 million riels (U.S. $8,650) to their victims. None of the union leaders was present in the courtroom during the ruling, which they later said they refused to accept, and at least two of them told RFA they plan to appeal the verdict. Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Confederation of Unions (CCU) and one of the labor leaders sentenced on Tuesday, called the ruling unjust. "I cannot believe how workers union leaders like us, who volunteer to represent workers in their fight for benefits and on behalf of their interests, can receive such treatment from the court," he said. Cambodian Labor Confederation (CLC) president Ath Thun, who was among those sentenced Tuesday, also dismissed the verdict. "I'm very disappointed-this unjust criminal record will make it very difficult for me to continue to represent workers in the future, due to restrictions under the new union law," he said, adding that he plans to appeal. Am Sam Ath, investigations manager for the Cambodia-based rights group Licadho, told RFA that the union leaders were denied justice in their case. At the end of November, Cambodia's Ministry of Labor asked all union leaders and labor activists who have court cases pending against them to report to the ministry so it can work with justice officials to have the charges dropped, in what critics have said was a move by Hun Sen to ease pressure by the international community over his human rights record. Political party law Also on Tuesday, Cambodia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the country's one-party National Assembly, or parliament, will push an amended version of a draft law on political parties to the full assembly for a vote on Dec. 13, which-if accepted-would allow 118 senior officials from the now-dissolved opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) to reenter politics following a ban last year. The prime minister and his ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) overwhelmingly won a July 29 election widely criticized as unfree and unfair following the Supreme Court's November 2017 dissolution of the CNRP and a five-year ban on the political activities of the party's 118 opposition officials for its role in an alleged plot to topple the government. CNRP President Kem Sokha was arrested on charges of treason two months ahead of the dissolution and, while he has been granted bail, remains under house arrest, is barred from meeting with CNRP officials or foreigners, and cannot speak at or host any rallies or political activities. In response to Tuesday's statement, acting CNRP President Sam Rainsy, who is living in self-imposed exile to avoid a string of politically motivated convictions, posted a message on his Facebook account saying that the 118 CNRP officials "are not interested in recovering our political rights as long as Kem Sokha ... does not enjoy full freedom and as long as the charges against him have not been dropped." CPP lawmaker Chheang Vun, who is a member of the Assembly's Permanent Committee, told RFA Tuesday that if the ban on Kem Sokha's political activities is lifted, "he will be able to enjoy freedom like the other 118 officials." "However, if he is charged with "conspiring with foreign power'[to topple the government], that is a criminal act that must undergo judicial proceedings and will need to be dealt with as a separate case," he said. Analyst Meas Ny told RFA that he welcomed what could be a solution to Cambodia's political crisis, but said he was troubled by frequent amendments to the same article of the country's constitution. "It remains to be seen whether this amendment is a genuine improvement or will simply be used as political tool for[the CPP's] old game of beating their political opponents again," he said. "This game has become very familiar."

On 7 December 2018, Rath Rott Mony, the president of a construction workers union who helped produce a documentary about sex trafficking back to Cambodia, was detained and is now set to be deported by Thai authorities back to Cambodia to be formally prosecuted.

Two criminal defamation lawsuits have been filed against activists leading the battle to reclaim judges' offices (top right) and homes built on Doi Suthep forest land. (File photo) The Office of the Judiciary has filed two defamation suits against leaders of a civil network fighting to reclaim the Doi Suthep forest area where the controversial housing project for judges and judicial staff is located in Chiang Mai. Teerasak Rupsuwan, who serves as a coordinator of the network, said Wednesday that the Office of the Judiciary filed the suits with Phahon Yothin police station in Bangkok. He said no details of the suits were available yet, but he expected the first case may involve the protest leaders holding a media briefing after the house of one of the protest leaders in Chiang Mai was searched on Nov 13. Police issued a summons for the activists to acknowledge charges in the first case on Monday. But they received the summons only on Friday, leaving them little time to prepare. As a result, they had to ask the police to reschedule and set a new date, Mr Teerasak said. The second case may involve the group holding activities including the burning of a coffin to protest against the housing project, Mr Teerasak said, adding that this group would also ask to reschedule their court date. Regarding progress in solving the dispute over the housing project, a provincial committee chaired by Chiang Mai governor Supachai Iamsuwan is standing by its decision to demolish 45 homes and nine buildings and return the disputed plot to the Treasury Department for rehabilitation. The nine buildings which are already partially occupied will be vacated. The housing project is located on an 89-rai land plot given to the military by the Treasury Department for the construction of the Region 5 Appeals Court. It ran into strong opposition from local groups months before it was completed in June this year.

On 28 November 2011, at least two people who were involved in a protest against the construction of a housing project for judges and judicial officials on Doi Suthep were targeted for judicial harassment.

Police this morning searched the house of a leading protester against the controversial housing estate for appeal court officials at the foot of Doi Suthep mountain in Chiang Mai, looking for evidence of last week's banners. Muang Chiang Mai precinct superintendent Pol Col Theerasak Sripasert led a warranted search of the Doi Suthep Forest Reclamation Network coordinator Teerasak Rupsuwan's house in Tambon Don Kaew, Mae Rim district. Officers also seized Teerasak's computer and phone. The search was an attempt to find any link to the banners which were erected on November 8 near Tha Phae and Chang Pheuk gates. The banners said in Thai: "Trampling on the hearts of Chiang Mai, dismissing the community rights and disrespecting Doi Suthep" along with the list of appeal court officials who live at the estate. Teerasak told reporters his group had nothing to do with the banners as it focused on legal challenges to the development. According to a Facebook page of network member Kumsida Paenthai on Wednesday, a fellow protester identified only by his Facebook name "Ton Reungyos" had already acknowledged a libel charge on Tuesday.

On 14 November 2018, Teerasak Rupsuwana, Doi Suthep Forest Reclamation Network coordinator and the leading protester against the controversial housing estate for appeal court officials at the foot of Doi Suthep mountain in Chiang Mai, had his house searched by police.

According to the information received, on October 12, 2018, the Thai company Thammakaset Co. Ltd., which operated chicken farms in Lopburi Province, filed a defamation complaint at the Bangkok Criminal Court against Ms. Sutharee Wannasiri. The complaint relates to three comments Ms. Sutharee Wannasiri made on Twitter on October 4, 2017, about a short video clip related to previous defamation complaints brought by Thammakaset against 14 of its former workers from Myanmar. In this 107-second video clip, published by Fortify Rights on October 4, 2017, the Burmese migrant workers, including Mr. Nan Win, describe how the company filed criminal defamation complaints against them after the workers reported labour rights violations to the authorities. Violations included being paid less than the minimum wage, failure to pay overtime wages, and confiscation of their identity documents, including passports. The video clip called on the Thai authorities to drop criminal defamation charges against the 14 Burmese migrant workers and to abolish criminal defamation laws in Thailand. If convicted, Ms. Sutharee Wannasiri faces up to six years in prison and/or a fine of up to 600,000 Thai Baht (around 16,000 EUR) under Articles 326 ("defamation') and 328 ("libel') of the Criminal Code. On October 8, 2018, Thammakaset also filed a criminal defamation complaint against Mr. Nan Win, based on two interviews he provided to Fortify Rights. Mr. Nan Win gave his testimony at a Fortify Rights press conference on human rights defenders in Southeast Asia, which was held on October 6, 2017 at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand in Bangkok, and another testimony for Fortify Rights' short video clip - the same video clip the company used to prosecute Ms. Sutharee Wannasiri. The company alleged that his testimonies, which contained details of alleged labour rights abuses while he was working at the Thammakaset farm, damages the company's reputation. If convicted, Mr. Nan Win faces up to four years' imprisonment and/or a fine of up to 400,000 Thai Baht (around 10,600 EUR) under Articles 326 and 328 of the Criminal Code. The Bangkok Criminal Court will hold the preliminary hearings for the cases of Ms. Sutharee Wannasiri and Mr. Nan Win on December 3, 2018. On October 26, 2018, Thammakaset Co.Ltd also filed a separate civil defamation complaint against Ms. Sutharee Wannasiri with the Civil Court in Bangkok, demanding 5,000,000 Thai Baht (around 133,000 EUR) in compensation for alleged damage to the company's reputation. The complaint is related to the same above-mentioned three Twitter comments, and demands that Ms. Sutharee Wannasiri publishes an apology to the company in four local newspapers and on her Twitter account for a minimum of 30 days and covers all legal costs. The Civil Court in Bangkok has scheduled to hold a preliminary hearing for this case on December 24, 2018. The Observatory condemns the judicial harassment against Ms. Sutharee Wannasiri and Mr. Nan Win, as well as Thammakaset's recurrent attempts to harass human rights defenders and migrant workers denouncing labour rights violations, and inhibit their legitimate activities and the exercise of their right to freedom of expression (see background information). The Observatory urges the Thai authorities to dismiss the above-mentioned complaints and to take pro-active steps to prevent further similar complaints, such as by decriminalizing defamation and requiring companies in Thailand to uphold their human rights obligations under Thai law and their responsibilities under the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Background information: On October 6, 2016, Thammakaset brought criminal defamation and other charges - under Articles 137 and 326 of the Criminal Code - against the above-mentioned 14 migrant workers from Myanmar after the workers submitted the complaint to the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand, alleging that the company had committed labour rights violations. On July 11, 2018, the Don Mueang Magistrate Court in Bangkok found that the 14 migrant workers were not guilty of criminal defamation and that their allegations of labour rights violations against the company were reasonable and well-founded. On November 4, 2016, Thammakaset also filed complaints for criminal defamation and violations of the Computer Crimes Act against Mr. Andy Hall, a British labour rights defender, for his social media posts that highlighted the 14 migrant workers' case. The complaint against Andy Hall is still pending at the Bangkok South Criminal Court[2]. In September 2017, the Appeal Court upheld an order issued by the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare in Lopburi Province in August 2016, which required Thammakaset to pay 1.7 million Thai Baht (around 45,200 EUR) in compensation to the 14 workers for violations of Thailand's Labour Protection Act. In October 2017, Thammakaset brought further theft charges against Ms. Ye Ye and Mr. Soe Yong, two of the 14 migrant workers and Ms. Suthasinee Kaewleklai, a labour rights activist and Thailand coordinator with the Migrant Workers Rights Network (MWRN), a civil-society organization promoting and protecting the rights of migrant workers. The charges stemmed from the fact that they submitted their employment timecards, which the company alleged they had "stolen", to the labour inspector officer as evidence of alleged labour rights violations. On September 3, 2018, the Lopburi Provincial Court dismissed the merit of the complaint regarding the alleged theft of timecards by the two migrant workers and Ms. Suthasinee Kaewleklai.

On 12 October 2018),f Ms. Sutharee Wannasiri, a human rights consultant and former Thailand human rights specialist with the non-governmental organisation (NGO) Fortify Rights, and Mr. Nan Win, a migrant worker from Myanmar, was targetted for judicial harassment for denouncing labour rights violations by a Thai company against migrant workers.

This is Kratik is an independent researcher and consultant who has been working in the field of human rights for years. She has recently been a victim of a series of judicial harassment launched by Thammakaset company who launched two separate criminal and civil defamation complaints against her in relation to her social media post about her previous advocacy work with Fortify Rights and their report on the labour abuses and judicial harassment carried out by Thammakaset against the 14 migrant workers. The Criminal Court and Civil Court in Bangkok scheduled her hearings for the 27 November, 3 December and 24 December 2018. Her criminal prosecutions are directly linked to the lawsuits against Nan Win, one of the 14 migrant workers, as a result of her contribution to Fortify Rights' short film, and press conference.

During October, Kratik, who has been advocating for human rights through her work with Fortify Rights and beyond recieved criminal and civil defamation complaints against her in relation to her social media post about her previous advocacy work with Fortify Rights and their report on the labour abuses and judicial harassment

Tomorrow, the Bangkok Military Court is going to inquire Mr. Anon Numpha at the Bangkok Military Court, in Khet Phra Nakhon, on 3 October 2018, at 8.30 am The inquiry related to the accusation against Mr. Anon Numpha for allegedly disseminating a military prosecutor witness' testimony in the Mr. Thanakorn Siripaiboon case that legal officers of NCPO alleged him for violating Computer Crime Act and lese majeste and sedition of the Penal Code as a result of his postings about the King Rama IX's dog and the alleged corruption in the construction of the Rajabhakti Park. The Bangkok Military Court issued a summons dated 25 September 2018 to Mr. Anon Nampha to be inquired over allegedly dissimating a military prosecutor"s witness dated 23 February 2018 without permission of the Court. Nevertheless, an alleged content in the prosecutor witness is part of the online article in the TLHR's human rights case update title: "NCPO's legal officer in sharing alleged corruption in the construction of the Rajabhakti Park and liking related to a dog king's insult; testifying although he cannot use Facebook but spotted the defendant's liking FB." The article reported the Thanakorn case between February to September 2018 which is the public hearing without permission of making a note of any observers. Regarding Mr. Anon Numpha, he is a lawyer network of TLHR who delicates his effort to provide a legal aid to political accuses during NCPO's administration. He has accused in criminal charges at lease 10 lawsuits for violating the head of the NCPO order No. 3/2015, alleging the sedition-like offense of Article 116 of the Penal Code, and insulting a court of Article 198 of the Penal Code. This inquiry over disseminating a testimony of a military prosecutor"s witness signifies the emblematic situation of ongoing restriction on a right to a fair trial of the accused and continuous judicial harassment against human right lawyers including political active citizens who providing a legal aid for people who exercise their freedom of expression under the military regime.

On 2 October 2018, Mr. Anon Numpha, a lawyer who delicates his effort to providing legal aid to political accuses during NCPO's administration, was required to attend a hearingor allegedly sharing a testimony of a military witness adduced by a military prosecutor.

Myanmar migrant-rights activist Ko Ye Min, who is a senior member of the Aid Alliance Committee, is being tortured by other inmates at Bangkok's Immigration Detention Centre, the group's founder said on Tuesday. "He told us he has been designated a "red inmate' (dangerous prisoner) and has been tortured by Vietnamese prisoners at the centre. He fears for his life," U Khaing Gyi, the founder of the Thai-based migrant rights group, said. Ko Ye Min was arrested and detained by the Thai Immigration Department on October 19 after going to the department to sort out his visa, he said, adding, "The department told us they had to arrest Ko Ye Min because of a report from the Myanmar embassy." "He is very afraid of assassination and asked us to get him out quickly," said U Tun Aung, who has visited Ko Ye Min at the detention centre. "Ko Ye Min reported being showered with cold water and being denied sleep by five Vietnamese inmates. He also had all his clothes except his underwear taken away and has to sleep on the floor without clothes," U Tun Aung said. U Khaing Gyi said he is horrified because Ko Ye Min is not guilty of a crime. U San Maung Oo, labour attach_ at the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok, said the embassy did not send any report about Ko Ye Min to Thai Immigration. "The Thai authorities said they arrested Ko Ye Min for overstaying his visa," he said, adding that they also told him that Ko Ye Min was detained because he is facing a lawsuit in Thailand. The migrant-rights group was formed in 2014 by U Khaing Gyi, Ko Ye Min and Ko Naing to protect Myanmar migrant workers in Thailand. It has faced pressure from labour brokers, employment agencies and employers in Thailand over its activities. Last week, there was a surprise inspection of the group's shelter for migrant workers.

Since 19 October 2018, Ko Ye Min, who is a senior member of the Aid Alliance Committee, has been subject to torture by other inmates at Bangkok's Immigration Detention Centre.

On 25 October, Ms. Koreeyoh Jehlong, a Malay Muslim villager from Ragne District, Narathiwat Province and a social activist affiliated with Perwani, a local civil society organization working on women and children related issue, were arrested after a raid at her house in a joint operation by police from Tan Yongmas Provincial Police Station and local military officials under the Martial Law. According to the information received, Ms. Koreeyoh was accused of possessing a suspect's mobile phone number which could be linked to many violent incidents in Ra-nge District this year. The officials searched her house for an hour; confiscated her mobile phone and brought her to Tan Yongmas Provincial Police Station to file her arrest report. On the same day, Ms. Koreeyoh was brought to the Ingkhayuththaborihan Military Camp in Pattani and remains in custody till date under the 2005 Emergency Decree without clear allegations and without access to a lawyer. The Regional Office raised concern of arbitrary detention against the woman with the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand and will be following-up closely with the family, lawyer, and NHRCT on this case. The Regional Office had been urging the Internal Security Operation Command Region 4th to ensure that the basic rights - including information to family, visit by the families, and access to a lawyer- are guaranteed during detention of persons in military facilities.

On 25 October 2018, Ms. Koreeyoh Jehlong, a Malay Muslim villager from Ragne District, Narathiwat Province and a social activist affiliated with Perwani, a local civil society organization working on women and children related issue, were arrested after a raid at her house in a joint operation by police from Tan Yongmas Provincial Police Station and local military officials under the Martial Law

On 25 October Mr. Attapong Pao-on, an officer of the "Praya Sue' task force led by Mr. Chaiwat Limlikitaksorn - the former Chief of Kaeng Krachan National Park - filed a complaint with the Provincial Police station of Kaeng Krachan in Petchaburi Province against six Karen land rights defenders including Mr. Ko-I Mimi (the 106-year-old Karen ethnic community's spiritual leader who passed away in early October), Mr Keu Pukad (also deceased) and other four family members. According to the information received, the six Karens were accused of trespassing in the KKFCT in violation of the 1961 National Park Act, and of its orders. The complaint has been filed because the Supreme Administrative Court in June 2018 held National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department guilty based on the park officers' violent forced eviction operation against Karen Community in KKFCT 2011. The Court also ruled that the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department must compensate the affected. That operation was led by Mr. Chaiwat.

On 25 October 2018, 6 Karen rights defenders and their family members, were mentioned in a complaint filed by Mr. Attapong Pao-on, an officer of the __�Praya Sue' task force led by Mr. Chaiwat Limlikitaksorn - the former Chief of Kaeng Krachan National Park.

A Bangkok district court ruled on Monday that police could hold two political refugees from China for an additional 12 days to complete an investigation of their case, a court official said. Wu Yuhua, who is also known by her nickname Ai Wu, was detained by police in Bangkok with her husband Yang Chong on Aug. 29 and locked up in an immigration detention center. They had lodged a bail application last week in a bid to stall attempts to repatriate them to China, where they fear political reprisals at the hands of the ruling Chinese Communist Party. "The couple appeared at the court in which the police sought extended custody because the case was not complete," a public information officer with the Pathumwan Municipal Court in Bangkok told BenarNews. "The court approved the custody request for another 12 days," the officials said, adding that police had already charged them with illegal entry into Thailand. Detainee Yang was being held at the Bangkok Remand Prison on the outskirts of the Thai capital, while Wu was at a remand facility for women in nearby Pathum Thani province, the official said. He said he was unaware of a bail request related to Monday's hearing. Supporters of the couple said they had been registered as genuine political refugees by the United Nations and were awaiting resettlement in a third country. But Thailand, which isn't a signatory to international conventions on refugees, doesn't legally recognize that status. Officials with the Bangkok office of the U.N.'s refugee agency (UNHCR), however, declined to confirm last week whether the Chinese couple had refugee status. "UNHCR cannot comment on, or even confirm the existence of, individual cases," Hannah MacDonald, a spokeswoman for the agency, told BenarNews. Yang and Wu were initially targeted by Chinese police after taking part in the press freedom protests in the southern city of Guangzhou in January 2013. They fled the country in February 2015 and made their way to Thailand after Wu started a support group for disappeared rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng. In Thailand, they eked out an existence without papers in the country's Pattaya region. They were approved as political refugees by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Bangkok in 2017, but had yet to be accepted for resettlement in a third country amid a global tightening of national immigration policies. Wu and Yang were detained along with He Weiyi outside the New Zealand Embassy in Bangkok, where they had hoped to persuade New Zealand officials to consider them for resettlement. Thailand has sent refugees fleeing China back home in the past. In July, authorities in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing jailed two rights activists sent home from Thailand as they were awaiting resettlement as political refugees, prompting an international outcry. Dong Guangping and Jiang Yefei fled with their families to Thailand in 2015, and were granted refugee status by the UNHCR office in Bangkok. But as they awaited resettlement in a third country, they were handed over to China by the Thai police, in a move that drew strong criticism from the U.N. Dong and Jiang were both found guilty of "incitement to subvert state power" and "illegally crossing a national border" by a court in Chongqing. Jiang received a six-and-a-half-year jail term, while Dong was sentenced to three-and-a-half years, their relatives said, citing phone calls with police and online reports. In July 2015, Thailand forcibly repatriated nearly 100 Uyghurs to China, a move that drew criticism from United Nations officials and human rights groups. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said it was shocked at the deportation of a group believed to include women and children who did not wish to return to China, where the Turkic-speaking Muslim minority suffers repression under Chinese rule.

On 17 September 2018, Wu Yuhua, who is also known by her nickname Ai Wu,and her husband Yang Chong, two political refugees from China was detained in Thailand.

BANGKOK: Thailand's military has charged four people with sedition after seizing T-shirts allegedly promoting republicanism, a legal aid group said Friday, the latest crackdown on political activism as the kingdom prepares for long-delayed elections. The arrests began September 6 when authorities found one woman in possession of 400 T-shirts promoting the "Thai Federation" movement that seeks to turn the constitutional monarchy into a republic, according to a representative from the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights group. Republicanism is a taboo topic in Thailand where even perceived criticism of the monarchy can lead to 15 years in prison under draconian lese majeste laws. Political activity has also been banned since a 2014 military coup deposed the civilian government and as the countdown begins for the kingdom's first election in four years, authorities have ramped up pressure on activists. Three of those arrested have been released on bail, according to a representative from the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights. "All four suspects are charged with sedition and illegal association," said lawyer Pawinee Chumsri. "These offences each carry a maximum prison term of seven years." The three released will be summoned to a court where a prosecutor will decide if they are to be indicted or freed. The Thai Federation movement has no on-the-ground presence in Thailand and appears to be mainly active online, with support from Thais living overseas. Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said earlier this week the group is based in Laos and is affiliated with an activist who fled the country because of lese majeste charges. Prawit also played down the group's importance, saying that the group "doesn't carry any weight and they are just trying to incite people on social media to think of separatism to create a new republic." Human Rights Watch's Sunai Phasuk said he does not know much about the group, but since the suspects have not engaged in violence, their actions are considered "peaceful". "The government should exercise restraint and they should not be pressing serious charges against them like sedition," Sunai said. Defense Ministry spokesman Kongcheep Tantravanich said the authorities are investigating the Thai Federation's purpose and the people involved in it.

The inquiry related to the accusation against Mr. Anon Numpha for allegedly disseminating a military prosecutor witness' testimony in the Mr. Thanakorn Siripaiboon case that legal officers of NCPO alleged him for violating Computer Crime Act and lese majeste and sedition of the Penal Code as a result of his postings about the King Rama IX's dog and the alleged corruption in the construction of the Rajabhakti Park. The Bangkok Military Court issued a summons dated 25 September 2018 to Mr. Anon Nampha to be inquired over allegedly dissimating a military prosecutor"s witness dated 23 February 2018 without permission of the Court. Nevertheless, an alleged content in the prosecutor witness is part of the online article in the TLHR's human rights case update title: "NCPO's legal officer in sharing alleged corruption in the construction of the Rajabhakti Park and liking related to a dog king's insult; testifying although he cannot use Facebook but spotted the defendant's liking FB." The article reported the Thanakorn case between February to September 2018 which is the public hearing without permission of making a note of any observers. Regarding Mr. Anon Numpha, he is a lawyer network of TLHR who delicates his effort to provide a legal aid to political accuses during NCPO's administration. He has accused in criminal charges at lease 10 lawsuits for violating the head of the NCPO order No. 3/2015, alleging the sedition-like offense of Article 116 of the Penal Code, and insulting a court of Article 198 of the Penal Code. This inquiry over disseminating a testimony of a military prosecutor"s witness signifies the emblematic situation of ongoing restriction on a right to a fair trial of the accused and continuous judicial harassment against human right lawyers including political active citizens who providing a legal aid for people who exercise their freedom of expression under the military regime.

On 25 September 2018, lawyer and HRD, Mr. Anon Nampha was issued a summon to be inquired over allegedly dissimating a military prosecutor__�s witness dated 23 February 2018 without permission of the Court.

Police in Bangkok shut down a forum organised by foreign journalists to discuss whether senior military officers in Myanmar should face justice for alleged human rights abuses committed by their forces against Rohingya Muslims and other ethnic minorities. About a dozen policemen showed up ahead of Monday evening's scheduled panel discussion at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand and ordered the panellists not to speak. The scheduled speakers included Tun Khin, a prominent UK-based Rohingya activist; Kobsak Chutikul, a former Thai diplomat; and Kingsley Abbott, a representative of the International Commission of Jurists, a rights advocacy group. Last month a specially appointed UN human rights team recommended that Myanmar military leaders should be prosecuted for genocide against the Rohingya. Critics of Myanmar's military have also accused it of carrying out ethnic cleansing and other war crimes. Some 700,000 Rohingya fled across the border to Bangladesh after the army launched a counterinsurgency campaign in response to attacks by Rohingya militants last August. Myanmar's army, which for decades has been accused of violating the human rights of various ethnic minorities, denies having committed organised rights abuses. The police at the Bangkok event handed over a letter requesting the panel discussion on "Will Myanmar's Generals Ever Face Justice for International Crimes?" be cancelled because it could damage national security, affect foreign relations and a give a third party the opportunity to create unrest. However, Police Col Thawatkiat Jindakuansanong told the organisers: "We are not asking. We are ordering you to cancel the event." Dominic Faulder, the president of the Foreign Correspondents Club, expressed his disappointment and said he had no choice but to announce the cancellation. It is believed to be the sixth time police have forced a cancellation of one of the group's programmes since Thailand's military seized power from an elected government in 2014. Politically sensitive events in other venues have also been stopped. Scheduled panellist Abbott, a senior international legal adviser with the International Commission of Jurists, chided Thai authorities for the shutdown. "This is an issue of global concern and Thailand, as Myanmar's neighbour and a leading voice in Asean, should be taking a leadership role in addressing the situation,'' he said. Asean is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a 10-member regional grouping. "Thailand's decision to order the event not to proceed is enormously disappointing and represents a lost opportunity to discuss the situation and identify possibilities for accountability in an open forum in the region," he said.

On 10 September 2018, police in Bangkok shut down a forum organised by foreign journalists to discuss whether senior military officers in Myanmar should face justice for alleged human rights abuses committed by their forces against Rohingya Muslims and other ethnic minorities.

The Thai Lawyers for Human Rights on today issued a statement condemning the use of violence against pro-election activist Ekachai Hongkangwan who had been physically attacked and demanding the government to order an investigation into the case so that the perpetrators will be arrested and prosecuted. Ekachai lodged a complaint with the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights on Wednesday, claiming that he was attacked by five unidentified men as he was arriving home after filing a complaint at the Government House demanding a probe into an alleged corruption case. Ekachai told officials at the TLHR that two men riding on a motorcycle followed him to his house since he disembarked from a bus. As he was approaching his house, the two men dismounted from the bike and started beating him up with their crash helments. Shortly afterward, three other assailants emerged from their hiding and joined in the attack, using wooden clubs. But he later managed to flee into his house. After the incident, Ekachai lodged a complaint with Lat Phrao police before he went to the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights to file a complaint. In the statement, the TLHR expressed over the use of violence against Ekachai, saying that the activist merely exercised his free expression in accordance with his constitutional rights. Besides occasional physical attacks against the activist by perpetrators, the lawyer group the activist also faces intimidation, arrest and detention by state officials.

On 22 August 2018, Ekachai Hongkangwan, was attacked by five unidentified men as he was arriving home after filing a complaint at the Government House demanding a probe into an alleged corruption case.

On July 2018, ICJ recieved a call from the intelligence to ask about Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief in South East Asia they are involved in organising. A few days later on, 7 August 2018, FORUM-ASIA, who is also involved in the event, recieved a similar call. It is believed that the intel is concerned about the topics that will be discussed during this event. The phone calls to the two organisation involved in the conference s is seen as a tactic to intimidate the NGOs and discourage them from holding the event.

On July 2018, ICJ recieved a call from the intelligence to ask about the joint event that we will do with ICJ in Aug (SEAFORB). A few days later on, 7 August 2018, FORUM-ASIA, a co-organiser of the event, recieved a similar call.

Thai authorities should release or charge with a credible offense an ethnic Malay Muslim human rights activist who has been detained in the deep south, Human Rights Watch said today. Authorities arrested Burhan Buraheng of the human rights group Jaringan Mangsa Dari Undang-Undang Darurat (JASAD) under martial law provisions, and have held him in a military camp without access to a lawyer or effective safeguards against mistreatment. "The Thai authorities' arrest of a well-known rights activist without any apparent basis sets off alarm bells given the countless reports of mistreatment by the military in the deep south," said Brad Adams, Asia director. "The Thai government should immediately remove Burhan from military custody, give his lawyer and family access, and release him, unless he is credibly charged." On August 1, 2018, Thai security forces arrested Burhan at his house in Pattani province's Sai Buri district. Soldiers initially detained him at the Sai Buri district police station before transferring him to Ingkayuth Boriharn military camp on the same day for further investigation under the 1914 Martial Law Act. Burhan and his family have not been notified about the basis of his arrest. The Thai government's use of the Martial Law Act in southern border provinces has long enabled the military to violate the basic rights of detainees. This law provides military authorities with legal immunity and broad powers to detain individuals without charge in informal places of detention for up to seven days. There is no effective judicial oversight or prompt access to legal counsel and family members. In addition, there is no effective redress since the law bars remedy or compensation to individuals for any damage caused by military actions done in line with martial law powers. Detention can often be further extended for another 30 days, and be renewed without limits under the 2005 Emergency Decree on Public Administration in State of Emergency. Since January 2004, a brutal armed conflict has taken place in Thailand's southern border provinces of Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat. Of the more than 6,000 people killed, about 90 percent have been civilians from the ethnic Thai Buddhist and ethnic Malay Muslim populations. Human Rights Watch has repeatedly condemned laws-of-war violations by separatist groups and by Thailand's security forces. "Thailand's fight against a separatist insurgency in the deep south does not justify empowering soldiers to commit abuses with impunity," Adams said. "Arbitrary detention and unaccountable officials are a recipe for abuses that will only serve to alienate the people in this restive region."

On 1 August 2018, Burhan Buraheng of the human rights group Jaringan Mangsa Dari Undang-Undang Darurat (JASAD) was arrested under martial law provisions, and have been held in a military camp without access to a lawyer or effective safeguards against mistreatment.

Human rights lawyer Prawet Prapanukul was sentenced to 16 months in prison on Wednesday after being found guilty of sedition for material he posted online, but a lese majeste charge against him was dropped. Mr Prawet had been indicted on 10 royal defamation charges and three sedition charges. He had opted to defend himself in the case, which he said was "a political issue, not a legal one". The Criminal Court in Bangkok sentenced him to five months on each sedition count and an additional month for refusing to have his fingerprints taken, the organisation Thai Lawyers for Human Rights said. With time served, it was estimated that he could be freed in two months. Prawet had acted as lawyer for supporters of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. He was arrested last year in connection with material he posted on Facebook about the 1932 revolution in Thailand, which turned the country from an absolute monarchy into a constitutional monarchy. The Prayut military government has declared safeguarding the monarchy a top priority. Critics of the lese majeste law, which provides for three to 15 years' imprisonment, say it is used to silence political dissidents. The legal aid group said last week at least 162 people had been charged under the lese majeste law since the junta seized power in 2014. Prawet's is a rare case of an acquittal. At least 92 people have been prosecuted for sedition-like offences, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights. "Prior to the 2014 coup, the "sedition' offence was used infrequently. In contrast, the article has become one of the most used tools of the NCPO to restrict freedom of expression," their report said. The government has often targeted people for their online activities, including simply sharing or re-posting material originating elsewhere. Last year a court sentenced a prominent student activist to 2�_ years in prison for sharing a BBC article about His Majesty the King on Facebook. In 2017, Thai authorities declared it illegal to exchange information online with three prominent government critics who live outside Thailand and often write about the monarchy.

On 27 June 2018, Prawet Prapanukul, Human rights lawyer, was sentenced to 16 months in prison for material he posted online.

On 8 June 2018, Mr. Aduldech Jehnae, the Deputy Chairperson of Mara Patani's "Peace Talk" with the Thai government and a member of Pattani Provincial Islamic Commission, was shot dead in Saiburi District, Pattani, by an unknown armed group during his travelling to his house after the Friday Prayer at a mosque. Mara Patani is an umbrella group of active non-state armed groups in SBP. An estimated 7,000 people, mostly Buddhist and Muslim villagers, have died in tit-for-tat attacks in the violence-plagued provinces. In addition to police officers and soldiers, Buddhist monks, teachers and government officials have been regularly targeted by members of shadowy Islamist separatist groups like Barisan Revolusi Nasional (National Revolutionary Front) in Pattani. "We live in fear," a Muslim man from a prominent local family in Pattani told ucanews.com. He asked to remain anonymous for fear of being labelled a collaborator by separatists. "Muslims and Buddhists, we used to live peacefully side by side," he added. "We would go to weddings and funerals together. We can't do that now." For many locals, even engaging in mundane activities can carry dangers. Numerous motorists have been gunned down in seemingly random attacks around the three troubled provinces. A few days ago, four men panning for gold in a stream on a rubber plantation in Narathiwat were discovered with their bodies riddled by bullets fired from assault weapons. The men, who belonged to a local Muslim family, included a father with his two teenage sons (https://www.ucanews.com/news/five-muslims-shot-dead-in-southern-thailand/82534)

On 6 June 2018, Mr. Aduldech Jehnae, the Deputy Chairperson of Mara Patani's "Peace Talk" with the Thai government was shot dead.

On 22 May 2018, at 07.30, the 15 human rights defenders who are part of the newly formed "We Want to Vote Movement' gathered as part of a group of about 300 people in total at the Thammasat University's Tha Phrachan Campus, having camped there over night, with the intention of marching to Government House in Bangkok to demand the end of military dictatorship that began with the coup in 2014 by the self-proclaimed National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), and elections within this year as previously promised by the head of the NCPO, General Prayuth Chan-ocha. They were blocked by rows of around 2000 police at the main entrance of the university. Police arrested ten of the human rights defenders at a checkpoint to block the march, near the UNESCAP building. They arrested the other five at Thammasat University. Under orders from an official of the NCPO, police on May 22 and 23 charged the 15 with sedition, violating the junta's ban on political gathering of five persons under the Head of the NCPO Order (No. 3/2558), the Public Assembly Act 2015, and the Road Traffic Act. They could yet be charged with additional offences. At the time they were held in police custody. On 24 May 2018, after detaining them for two nights the police took the 15 human rights defenders to Bangkok Criminal Court around noon. Police submitted a request to the court for 12 days of further pre-trial detention while TLHR lawyers representing 14 of the 15 submitted a motion to object to the police request. At 15.20, the Court dismissed the motion, but after TLHR lawyers were able to secure surety for the accused to obtain bail the court granted bail at 17.20. As a result, the 15 human rights defenders had to place a cash total of THB1.5 million (USD46,800) - THB100,000 per person. The court also imposed conditions that breach international human rights standards, namely, prohibiting the accused from organizing or participating in an assembly that might violate domestic law, which itself is inconsistent with Thailand's obligations as a State party to the ICCPR. The charges against the 15 human rights defenders include Section 116 of the Penal Code or "sedition', Section 215 (ten persons upwards being assembled together to do or threaten to do an act of violence, or to do anything to cause a breach of the peace), and Section 216 (refusing to disperse after being ordered so by competent official); as well as violations of the Head of the NCPO Order no. 3/2558, article 12 prohibiting a political gathering of five persons and more, violations of the Road Traffic Act, and violations of the Public Assembly Act 2015. If convicted of the offences brought against them as listed in the appendix, the accused face up to seven years in jail. [n 29 May 2018, Thai police issued summons to at least 47 more individuals to be charged in addition to 15 pro-democracy activists who were already charged by police on 22 and 23 May 2018.[1] This would be a total of at least 62 people who are facing legal actions in this case, for exercising their freedom of peaceful assembly to call for elections and democracy. The recent name list includes Ms. Neeranuch Neamsub, one of TLHR staff who was on duty to observe and monitor the assembly at Thammasat University and in front of the UN ESCAP building in Bangkok on 21-22 May 2018. According to the summons, the 47 individuals will have to report themselves to police for notification of violating a ban on political gatherings of more five persons or more without a permission of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) and other charges on 7 June 2018, at 9:30, at Nang Lerng Police Station in Bangkok. The details of accusations and all charges against them will be fully informed on that day.

On 29 May 2018, 47 more individuals who participated in a pro-election rally on 22 May 2018, wre summoned to be charged or exercising their freedom of peaceful assembly to call for elections and democracy.

On 22 May, 2018 in Bangkok, 15 pro-democracy activists were charged by police with sedition, violating the junta's ban on political gathering of five persons under the Head of the NCPO Order and the Road Traffic Act. They have been in police custody until present. Police could detain them up to 48 hours before bringing them before court to request for further pre-trial detention. It was earlier reported that police would bring them before the court to request for further detention of the activists on 23 May 2018. However, at 11.30 on 23 May 2018, the police informed TLHR that they would press additional charges under the Public Assembly Act 2015 against the activists. During 21.00 to midnight, police informed offences under Public Assembly Act 2015 against the 15 activists. Therefore, the activists had to be detained at police stations for another night before being brought by police to court for further detention request on 24 May 2018. On 24 May, 2018, the 15 activists were transported from police stations to the court around noon. Police submitted the request to court for 12 days of further pre-trial detention while the activists' lawyers submitted a motion to object to the police request. At 15.20, the Court dismissed the activists' motion without presiding to hear their lawyers' in the interest of objection and direct examination. As a result, the 15 activists had to request for bail from the Court and placed cash of total 1.5 million THB (46,800USD) - 100,000 THB per person. If indicted to court, they may face up the maximum sentence of up to seven years in jail.

On 22 May 2018,15 pro-democracy activists were charged by police with sedition, violating the junta's ban on political gathering of five persons under the Head of the NCPO Order and the Road Traffic Act, for holding a pro-election demonstration.

Police in the Thai capital blocked a march Tuesday by pro-democracy activists protesting four years of military rule and detained several of the movement's leaders. About 3,200 officers were deployed, police said, to prevent about 200 demonstrators from defying a junta ban on protests with a march from a Bangkok university campus to Government House, where they were to demand that elections be held this year. Faced with barricades, a tropical downpour and lines of police, the protesters dueled with authorities by loudspeaker, trying to outshout police warnings that the demonstration would tarnish Thailand's image, scare tourists and cause congestion. Activist Seriwith Seritiwat said the protesters would "never back down," and tempers briefly flared as they pushed and shoved with police. By late afternoon the demonstrators began to disperse after police said they were charging protest leaders with violating the law on assembly. Three of he leaders turned themselves in. Tuesday was the fourth anniversary of a bloodless coup in 2014 that toppled Thailand's elected government, the country's second coup in less than a decade. The junta vowed reform and reconciliation for a politically divided Thailand but its rule has been tarnished by corruption scandals and repeated postponement of promised elections. The protesters, mainly middle-aged and elderly people led by a core of student activists, have been holding regular rallies for the last few months, calling for the junta to resign. Its most recent promise of elections is for February next year, but the protesters want the junta to stick to an earlier pledge to hold them in November. Political gatherings of five or more people are banned by the military government, which has regularly summoned its opponents to military bases for what it calls "attitude adjustment." Amnesty International used the anniversary of the military takeover to reiterate its calls for the junta, known formally as the National Council for Peace and Order, to restore civil rights in the country. "The sweeping and wholly unjustified restrictions on human rights put in place by the NCPO in the wake of the coup were supposed to be exceptional and temporary measures," Katherine Gerson, the group's Southeast Asia campaigner, said in a statement. "Four years on and countless abuses later, they remain firmly in place and are relentlessly deployed by authorities." Analysts say junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha, who led the coup and is now prime minister, is keeping a tight grip on political activity and dissent and is maneuvering to retain power even if elections are held.

On 22 May 2018, around 3000 police blocked 200 protesters from marching to commemorate the 4th year anniversary of the coup in 2014.

A woman said Thursday she was held involuntarily for three nights and drugged at a state-run mental hospital after encouraging the monarchy's support for the people at a recent pro-democracy rally. Sasinutta Shinthanawanitch said some 20 police officers from Chanasongkram Police Station led her away from the Saturday rally at Thammasat University for interrogation. They later sent her to Somdet Chaophraya Hospital, a state-run psychiatric hospital in Bangkok, where she was held four days and injected against her will with sedatives. "I was sedated and lost my faculties. A nurse told me once I am there, they had that right," Sasinutta said Thursday, two days after being released. Neither the hospital nor police dispute her account, saying they were acting within the law. But the 49-year-old said her rights were violated. Police officers told her they want to make sure she's not mentally ill and asked to escort her for a psychiatric test at the hospital. The station police chief said she violated no law. Sasinutta was among numerous speakers to take the stage Saturday at a rally by the Democracy Restoration Group, where they took turns calling for elections to be held this year. She was the only to mention the monarchy while on stage. The royal family is a freighted topic, especially for junta opponents who have been threatened under the severe royal defamation law. The ordeal began after Sasinutta, who refused to identify herself on stage, called on the monarchy to "stand by the Thai people" and called on the king to support the public on May 22, the fourth anniversary of the coup d'etat that brought the ruling junta to power. Police asked her to go with them to have her mental state evaluated. She said she agreed, never imagining she would be locked up for four days and three nights, sedated by injection and then oral tablets. A nurse at the hospital said its actions were taken under a Thai mental health act which stipulates that anyone handed over by police and suspected of being mentally ill must be examined by medical professionals to ascertain their state of mind. Arunrat Khamsirntha, a registered nurse at Somdet Chaophraya, said the hospital could not divulge the results of its examination or its rationale for admitting Sasinutta for three nights, however. Chanasongkram police chief Chakkarit Chosoongnern said officers escorted Sanittnutta to the hospital for a check-up because she appeared to be incoherent. Chakkarit said the woman agreed to be accompanied by police along the way. "We didn't force her. We invited her over to the police station, and she agreed to go. We assessed her emotional state and and her thoughts. She was unlike normal people. There was something complicated, unlike us," Chakkarit said. Upon being discharged, the hospital told her to return for further examination this afternoon. Sasinutta, who insists she is not mentally ill, decided not to take further risk and refuses to go. "If I go for another examination today, they could accuse me of being insane. This is politics. I would lose my driver license, the right to my properties and the right to be a normal person. There are people who are trying to make me out to be an insane person," said Sasinutta, frustration filling her voice. Human rights attorney Arnon Nampa, who is representing Sasinutta, said she has the right not to return to the hospital. She owns a small oyster sauce factory in Pitsanuloke province, he said. Arunrat, the nurse, agreed that since Sasinutta was discharged Tuesday, she is no longer obliged to return for further tests. Sasinutta said her treatment at the facility suggested a political motive. Her evaluation began with questions she considered unpleasant from a psychiatrist, who asked her why she joined the protest. "How do you know that Thai people are not happy? Does Thailand have that many problems?" Sasinutta said the doctor asked. In the end, Sasinutta said she resisted and was physically handled by four male nurses while a female nurse gave her an injection. She slept the first night with 50 or so other patients in a locked common room. The next two nights she was transferred to a single room where she was locked inside and given tablets to swallow. Her release came after blood and urine tests and two more verbal examinations with two other doctors, she said. Protest leader Nuttaa Mahattana, who was managing the stage Saturday, defended police, saying they had no intention to frame the woman as insane. Nuttaa said that Sasinutta's comments were not in line with other demonstrators who called for quick elections because she mentioned the monarchy. Nutta said Sanittnutta was asked to give her name on stage but replied that she had "no name," leading police to become more suspicious. Nuttaa added that if there's anything that is wrong, it is the lese majeste law, which she regards as not a normal law. Prosecutions spiked since the 2014 coup under the law, which can see people jailed for up to 15 years per violation after a secret trial by military tribunal. Exiled lese majeste fugitive Nithiwat Wannasiri wrote online Tuesday that it was "most painful" to see the issue of her confinement at the hospital being "censored" by the pro-democracy camp. As for Sasinutta, she said some security forces have since started calling her son and older brother to ask they convince her to end her political activism. Sounding upset, Sasinutta said she told them to tell the officers to just call her. "This is a threat," she said. The Chanasongkram police chief said his men had nothing to do with the calls, saying that special branch police or the military may make such calls. He said Sasinutta did not violate any law.

On 10 May 2018, Sasinutta Shinthanawanitch, protester, was led by police away from the Saturday rally at Thammasat University to Chanasongkram Police Station for interrogation. They later sent her to Somdet Chaophraya Hospital, a state-run psychiatric hospital in Bangkok, where she was held four days and injected against her will with sedatives.

Peace TV is to be kicked off the air for one month in a decision by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) that enraged its popular lead anchor. NBTC secretary-general Takorn Tantasith announced the decision to temporarily suspend the licence of the broadcaster on Wednesday. The suspension will take effect after the satellite-based station is notified by a letter from the telecom regulator, he added. Peace TV was still on air on Wednesday evening, but is expected to go blank soon after the NBTC letter reaches the operator. In past periods of censorship, the station has continued to send content through its YouTube channel. The NBTC cited programmes broadcast between March 26 and April 9 as the reasons to shut the station for a month, saying their content was considered likely to incite conflict. The telecom regulator also warned Peace TV of future harsher punishment if it continues to commit "violations". The NBTC move was the second station suspension this year, following a 15-day closure in February. Peace TV is linked to the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), with red-shirt leader Nattawut Saikuar as one of its popular hosts. Mr Nattawut, who hosted his regular programme on Wednesday, accused the NBTC of selectively targeting the station as a means of supporting the government. The UDD leader suspected the NBTC decision is linked with concern over protest activities timed to coincide with the four-year anniversary of the coup on May 22.

On 9 May 2018, Peace TV, a television channel, known for its democratic stance, recieved a letter from the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) suspending the licence of the broadcaster, deeming that the content of the channel incited violence.

BANGKOK (The Nation/ANN) - Group appeals to UN as supporters prevented from going to Bangkok for demonstration. Activists demanding the right to protest appealed to the United Nations for help after land rights campaigners faced intimidation from the military yesterday to prevent them from joining peaceful demonstrations in Bangkok. It was reported that at least three prominent members of the rights movement People's Movement for a Just Society (P-Move) Prayong Doklamyai, Sukaew Fungfu, and Rangsan Saensongkwae - were arrested on charges of violating the Public Gathering Act and causing public disorder in Lamphun province but later released. At about 3.40pm yesterday, a minor confrontation took place as dozens of police, soldiers and administrative officials turned up to arrest Prayong, Sukaew and Rangsan.These activists were among the crowds of demonstrators. There was some pushing and shoving, as demonstrators tried to prevent officials from dragging their leaders away. Soldiers said these men had violated a junta order, which bans actions that may undermine public order or economic systems, and the Public Assembly Act. Finally, officials managed to push the three men into a police vehicle that quickly sped away. Officials also tore down demonstrators' banners. More than 100 members of P-Move in the northern region were stopped on Tuesday night during their journey to join the protest in Bangkok. P-Move members from Lamphun were detained at the police checkpoint in Mae Tha district, while another group of P-Move activists from Chiang Mai were summoned to Kawila Military Base for questioning and then forced to remain at home. All of them intended to attend the prolonged protest in Bangkok alongside land rights activists from across the country to push for long-delayed solutions to land rights issues, disparity in society, and unjust governmental policies, which resulted in greater difficulties and rights violation of poor people across the country. Prayong told The Nation yesterday afternoon, "The military tried to stop the people from joining the protest in Bangkok on the pretext of keeping public order, so they summoned all P-Move protesters from Chiang Mai to Kawila Military Base and asked them to give a signed assurance that that they would not participate in the protest," Prayong said. "Then, the Army offered Bt20,000 to the protesters as compensation for their travel expenses to Bangkok and the soldiers escorted all of them back to their residences to ensure they would not take part in the protest." However, he revealed that P-Move members from Chiang Mai and Lamphun would not give up their efforts and would discuss their next move. The Farmers Union of the northern region and P-Move have issued a statement condemning the military and authorities' intervention preventing them from exercising their right to peacefully demonstrate, as this right is guaranteed by the Constitution. The statement said the authorities also have the obligation to facilitate and provide security for the public gathering. The groups asked Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha to stop all intimidation of the protesters and urged the National Human Rights Commission and UN to send representatives to monitor the protest so that their rights would be protected.P-Move representatives also went to the UN office in Bangkok to submit a petition and urged them to reach out to Thai authorities and related agencies to ensure freedom of expression and better protection for every human rights defender. In the letter to UN Resident Coordinator Luc Stevens, the group asked the UN to help them on two issues: working with Thai authorities to facilitate the social movement of P-Move, and cooperating with Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to come out with better protection measures for human rights defenders. UN Human Rights Asia expressed concern yesterday with regard to the restrictions imposed on civil society groups on Labour Day in the country."As party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Royal Thai Government must ensure that these rights are fully respected, " said Cynthia Veliko, OHCHR Southeast Asia regional representative today.

On 2 May 2018, three leaders of the People's Movement for Just Society (P-Move) land rights advocacy group, was detained and held over night for their participation in a recent protest.

Activists detained before making mocking visit to Prawit's housepolitics TWO PRO-DEMOCRACY activists were apprehended by police without an arrest warrant, with one alleging physical abuse, as they planned to "bless" Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, who opened his residence yesterday to receive well-wishers for the Songkran Festival Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha splashed water around cheerfully as he led military and senior officers to bless the 72-year-old key junta figure who had just returned from an overseas trip last week after a health check-up. Activists Ekachai Hongkangwan and Chokchai Paiboonratchata also intended to join the festivities but were stopped by police officers from Lat Phrao Police Station Chokchai felt a sudden hearing loss after one police officer pressed his head against a police van seat, as they whisked him away from Ekachai's house in Lat Phrao Soi 109 According to Ekachai's Facebook post, their plan was to light 36 incense sticks, deliver a watch garland and play the Thai fiddle for Prawit at his residence in Lat Phrao Soi 71 yesterdayAll the deeds were intended to mock Prawit over his luxury-watch scandal His possession of an estimated Bt30-million worth of luxury watches might have pointed to unusual wealth and an intent to conceal assets but the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) declared that it had found "no irregularity" in the case The NACC, whose board was appointed by junta-picked legislators, last month cleared Prawit's name and concluded that all 22 watches seen to be worn by Prawit were "borrowed" from a friendThe 36 incense sticks were intended to mock the government's superstitious beliefs In February, the same number of incense sticks were found burnt in front of the PM's office Government House officers were ordered to find the "wrongdoers", who they suspected had performed rituals to bring bad luck to the governmentThe fiddle playing, meanwhile, was to harp on the Thai idiom, "playing a fiddle to a buffalo", which means to speak or advise unwise people who will never understandEkachai has made several attempts in the past to hand watches to Prawit as a symbolic protest since the scandal was exposed last December Yesterday proved no exception and he failed to reach PrawitEkachai and Chokchai were stopped by officers as early as 5.45amWhile police officers said that they had to stop Chokchai as he tried to run away, creating a scene, the two activists denied the account "They[officers] said that "a boss' had ordered them to stop our activity," Ekachai said. "When I was at the police station, they tried to make me sign a testimony saying that I instigated the public to join me I refused to sign it as I was worried about it being used for sedition charges," he continued, referring to the Criminal Code's Article 116, a law frequently used by the junta against dissidents Chokchai added that he was also abused and physically assaulted by the police officers "I was surrounded by around 10 officers when I waited for Ekachai at a bus stop near his house," Chokchai said"They pressed me against the floor, covered my head and brought me to the van They also took away my mobile phone, which I use to access my Facebook account, and erased all photos in it before returning it to me," he saidChokchai added that he had his head forcibly pressed during the 30-minute ride and one officer also sat on his back "I was treated brutally My ear also appeared to have a problem after being pressed down for so long," he saidAt 11am, the two were released from Hua Mark Police Station without being charged Chokchai later went to hospital to have his ear checked He insisted on filing charges alleging abuse by the officersActivist Nutta Mahattana said while the two merely intended to peacefully exercise their freedom to express their views over Prawit's scandal, what the police had done was wrong "The police surrendered themselves as a tool of the junta This is no different from mafia culture," she said "We've been under this kind of regime for four years already."

On 16 April 2018, Ekachai Hongkangwan and Chokchai Paiboonratchata, pro-democracy activists, were apprehended by police without an arrest warrant, with one alleging physical abuse, as they planned to "bless" Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, who opened his residence yesterday to receive well-wishers for the Songkran Festival

The report, "The Nightmare Returns: Karen hopes for peace and stability dashed", was to be released at the Seven Fountains Centre on Chiang Mai province's Huey Kaew Road, accompanied by an exhibition and panel discussion. Shortly before the event was due to start Wednesday afternoon, local police told the organiser not to go ahead with the activity, a representative of the Karen Peace Support Network (KPSN) said "They gave no reason They just said we couldn't do it," said a NPSN staff memberLocal police in Chiang Mai could not be immediately reached for comment. n the report, obtained by The Nation, the Karen ethnic community urges the Myanmar military to honour the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement It said more than 15,000 government troops had "invaded" areas controlled by the Karen National Union (KNU)The ethnic group planned to raise awareness about the plight of more than 2,400 Internally Displaced People recently forced from their land and homes in Mutraw's Luthaw township by the Tatmadaw (Myanmar military) Cynthia Veliko, the regional representative of the UN Human Rights Office for Southeast Asia said her office continued to closely monitor the situation regarding rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly, and has consistently urged Thailand to fully respect these rights. "We are alarmed by the pressure exerted by security agencies which led to the cancellation of this critical event by the co-organisers This raised worrying concerns on the space available for freedom of expression, academic freedom and the importance of dialogue on this matter," she said A family of Karen is displaced from home after military clashes in Karen state in FebruaryA family of Karen is displaced from home after military clashes in Karen state in February UN concerned as Thailand blocks launch of report on Karen crisis ASEAN+ April 25, 2018 20:02 By THE NATION 6814 THE UNITED Nations human rights body on Wednesday was alarmed by a move by Thai authorities to block the launch of a report revealing the humanitarian crisis in neighbouring Myanmar's Karen state. The report, "The Nightmare Returns: Karen hopes for peace and stability dashed", was to be released at the Seven Fountains Centre on Chiang Mai province's Huey Kaew Road, accompanied by an exhibition and panel discussion. Shortly before the event was due to start Wednesday afternoon, local police told the organiser not to go ahead with the activity, a representative of the Karen Peace Support Network (KPSN) said "They gave no reason They just said we couldn't do it," said a NPSN staff memberLocal police in Chiang Mai could not be immediately reached for comment. In the report, obtained by The Nation, the Karen ethnic community urges the Myanmar military to honour the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement It said more than 15,000 government troops had "invaded" areas controlled by the Karen National Union (KNU)The ethnic group planned to raise awareness about the plight of more than 2,400 Internally Displaced People recently forced from their land and homes in Mutraw's Luthaw township by the Tatmadaw (Myanmar military) Cynthia Veliko, the regional representative of the UN Human Rights Office for Southeast Asia said her office continued to closely monitor the situation regarding rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly, and has consistently urged Thailand to fully respect these rights. "We are alarmed by the pressure exerted by security agencies which led to the cancellation of this critical event by the co-organisers This raised worrying concerns on the space available for freedom of expression, academic freedom and the importance of dialogue on this matter," she saidThe KNU has been fighting for autonomy against the Myanmar government since independence from Britain in the middle of the last century. Along with other armed ethnic groups, the KNU signed the National Ceasefire Agreement with Myanmar authorities in 2015 The truce pact called on all parties to prioritise political dialogue instead of force of arms, requiring that they confine their troops within designated areas It stipulates that the movement of armed troops in areas controlled by the other party is allowed only after obtaining prior agreementHowever, the Karen said in the report that the Myanmar government did not honour the agreement, provoking dozens of armed clashes with the armed ethnic in the KNU controlled areas The clashes displaced thousands of people from their farming land and homes. As the Tatmadaw is showing no sign of withdrawing from their offensive positions, the displaced Karen are now facing the spectre of protracted displacement, and severe food and physical insecurity, the NPSN report said.

On 25 April 2018, a representative of the Karen Peace Support Network (KPSN) said that local police told them not to go ahead with releasing the report, "The Nightmare Returns: Karen hopes for peace and stability dashed". This was to be released at the Seven Fountains Centre on Chiang Mai province's Huey Kaew Road, accompanied by an exhibition and panel discussion.

CHIANG RAI: Police believe at least two gunmen fired shots in the lethal ambush of a rights activist and leader of the Hmong people and his family in this northernmost province on Tuesday evening. Pol Col Pasawee Chotethianchaiwat, deputy commander of Chiang Rai police, said on Wednesday that investigators at the scene of the attack found spent shells from two kinds of guns, and so believed there were at least two gunmen. Thaweesak Yodmaneebanphot, 54, and his family were on a forested section of the Ban Rom Fa Thong-Ban Pha Tang Road in tambon Por of Wiang Kaen district about 5pm on Tuesday. His wife and young daughter were killed, and Mr Theewesak and his young son wounded. Police found 14 spent 7.62mm shell casings from an AK-47 assault rifle and five spent shotgun cartridges. Investigators said there were many footprints on the road, indicating the gunmen spent time choosing their ambush site beforehand. They had hidden in forest on a hill slope to the left of the vehicle. It appeared the pickup truck had stopped when it was attacked and then reversed for about 15 metres. The gunmen had continued to fire at the truck, bringing it to a halt. Mr Thaweesak's wife Maiyia Wongnapapaisal, 40, and four-year-old daughter died at the scene. He was shot in his right arm and his three-year-old son in his left leg. Police said the family was returning home from their coffee plantation. They were about three kilometres along the road and about five kilometres from their home in Ban Huai Nan, in tambon Por, when they were attacked. Mr Thaweesak is the head of the Hmong Club in Thailand and an important man along that part of the Thai-Lao border. He has actively fought for land rights for people living in forested areas in Thoeng and Wiang Kaen districts.

On 24 April 2018, Thaweesak Yodmaneebanphot, land rights activist, and his family were ambushed on a forested section of the Ban Rom Fa Thong-Ban Pha Tang Road in tambon Por of Wiang Kaen district about 5pm on Tuesday.

The police and military have summoned 11 villagers in Phayao during the night and later accused them of violating the junta's ban on public gatherings. The villagers were prosecuted after holding a rally in support of the civil rights march from Bangkok to Khon Kaen. On 6 February 2018, the police accused 14 villagers in Phayao of violating the Head of National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) Order 3/ 2015, the junta's ban on public gatherings of five people or more. The authorities filed charges against the villagers for expressing support for We Walk, Walk for Friendship, the march for civil rights from Bangkok to Khon Kaen. If found guilty, they will face up to six months in prison and fines of up to 10,000 baht. According to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR), a day earlier the villagers held a minor activity to show solidarity with the We Walk march. They walked for 500 meters and read a statement calling for land reform, community rights and progressive taxation. Later in the night, the authorities summoned 11 participants at the rally to Phu Sang Police Station and interrogated them until morning. There was no defence lawyer throughout the interrogation. At around 3 am, police officers told the villagers that they would be accused of violating the junta's order, adding that the authorities will issue a summons for three other participants who did not show up at the police station. The youngest suspect is only 16 years old and has a mental disability, reported TLHR. At 9.30 am, the police took 10 villagers, excluding the youngest one, to Chiang Kham Provincial Court to seek permission to detain them in custody. The villagers denied all accusations and the court released them on bail with 5,000 baht as surety for each. The 10 include seven members of the Northern Peasants Federation, Saeng Sopbong, Wanlop Phandi, Prayun Yamongkhon, Nom Karanoi, Nan Chatunam, Choen Daengmani and Bunyuen Saengkaeo; and four student activists from Chiang Rai, Somchai Kuwiwatthanasakun, Kanthima Mongkhondi and Worasathit Buadaeng. The police also issued summonses for three other villagers, Amphon Somrit, Phon Khankhachi and Kaeo Unpo, who failed to show up at the police station the previous night. The We Walk march kicked off at Thammasat University's Rangsit campus on 20 January with four main issues: the right to universal health care, the rights of farmers, community and environmental rights, and the Constitution. Since the beginning, the rally has faced repeated obstruction by the police and military. On the first day, the authorities blocked the activists from exiting Thammasat University, claiming the march violated the junta's ban on public gatherings of five people or more. The protesters then divided into groups of four people and marched from the university group by group. Previously, the administrative court ruled to guarantee the right to freedom of assembly of the We Walk march and ordered the authorities not to obstruct the activity, but the intimidation remains. Eight organisers of the march are also facing prosecution for violating the junta's ban on public assembly.

On 6 February 2018, the police accused 14 villagers in Phayao of violating the Head of National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) Order 3/ 2015, the junta's ban on public gatherings of five people or more.

The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) on Friday filed a complaint against 57 pro-democracy protesters for allegedly committing sedition. Those named in the complaint included Kan Pongpraphapan, Sirawith Seritiwat, Rangsiman Rome, Nattha Mahuttana, Ekachai Hongkanwan and Anon Nampa. The complaint was made by Colonel Burin Thongprapai, a member of the NCPO's legal department. It was in response to last week's demonstration in which protesters called for the army to stop supporting the NCPO as they marched from the Thammasat University's Tha Prachan campus to the Royal Thai Army headquarters. Most of the named demonstration leaders have been previously charged with several offences related to a series of protests calling for an election to be held this year. Police officers reportedly were also mulling whether to charge the protesters for using amplifiers, resisting an officer's orders, and assaulting officers. The latter relates to demonstrators breaking through officers lining up to block them from marching on the Army headquarters, resulting in a brief clash.

On March 30 2018, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) filed a complaint against 57 pro-democracy protesters for allegedly committing sedition

KHON KAEN - A pro-democracy activist was detained briefly at a military court Friday, one day before he plans to lead a protest demanding that the military abolish the ruling junta. Rangsiman Rome was taken into custody Friday over two-year-old charges he violated the junta's ban on political assembly while in the northeastern province. He was held five hours before being freed at 3pm on a 10,000 baht bond from the 23rd Military Circle Headquarters. "I'm not anxious about this case," Rangsiman said Friday afternoon before pivoting to discuss Saturday's march. "Tomorrow I will still lead the walk from Thammasat University, Tha Prachan campus, to the army base for a march to raise awareness as planned, even if the court order says I can't do it." Rangsiman has been barred from leaving the country or "inciting incidents." He will be summoned for questioning on May 7. Jatupat "Pai Dao Din" Boonpattaraksa, who is serving a prison sentence for royal defamation, briefly met Rangsiman at the court to give evidence. Both men, as students, were charged for campaigning against the junta-backed charter at a July 2016 event at Khon Kaen University. Rangsiman said he only learned of the charges last month. "I never received a summons. I only knew last month when I was detained. Today I came to meet with the military court's prosecutors. Therefore, it's up to the prosecutors' jurisdiction if they will charge me or not," he said. Rangsiman was greeted upon his release by friends and Jatupat's parents, Wiboon Boonpattaraksa and Prim Boonpattaraksa. Saturday's protest, Rangsiman said, will call for dissolving the junta, restoring democracy and a third point he would not disclose before the march. "I don't want to reveal the last point now, because I'm afraid we will be prevented from holding the event," Rangsiman said. Rangsiman has been charged with numerous offenses during several years of activism since the 2014 coup. He was most recently among those charged with inciting rebellion and violating the public assembly law when the latest wave of protests erupted anew in January.

On 23 March 2018, Rangsiman Rome, A pro-democracy activist was detained briefly at a military court, one day before he plans to lead a protest demanding that the military abolish the ruling junta.

A court in Bangkok on Monday ordered a British labour rights activist to pay 10 million baht (US$321,000) in damages to a company that filed a civil defamation suit after he helped expose alleged human rights violations at its factory. The Monday ruling against Andy Hall was the latest development involving four defamation suits filed by pineapple canning company Natural Fruit, which employed migrant Myanmar workers who claimed the company had abused them and broke labour regulations. Hall's legal troubles stem from a 2013 report he researched for the Finnish consumer organisation Finnwatch that alleged labour abuses at Natural Fruit's facilities. They also concern an interview that he gave to Al-Jazeera on the subject, which was the focus of Monday's ruling. Natural Fruit claimed that the report Hall helped research and his interview comments both hurt their business. Hall has prevailed in one of the two criminal defamation suits against him, while the other is pending, as is another civil suit. He has also filed a countersuit against Natural Fruit. Hall left Thailand in 2016, citing intolerable legal harassment after another company, poultry producer Thammakaset Farm, sued him in another case, but still works on labour rights issues concerning migrants in Thailand. "This verdict is a major setback for rights of human rights defenders, migrant workers, labour/migration activists and researchers everywhere and casts a dark shadow over recent positive progress the Thai government and Thai industry has made to improve migrant worker conditions," Hall said Monday on his Twitter account. The reputation of Thai companies has been tainted in recent years by allegations of labour abuse, especially in the fishing and seafood industries. Several companies in that sector have worked with Hall to try to improve conditions, fearing sanctions from countries that take Thai exports. "The big issue in Andy Hall's case is this is an active attempt to try and discourage independent research into company supply chains in Thailand, and this should be a serious concern to all foreign investors who are sourcing production in Thailand," said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch. "When problems in their supply chain are brought to light, companies like Natural Fruit or Thammakaset Farm can so easily sue and ruin the life of an activist to try to keep them silent. It has a chilling effect on this type of research. It has a chilling effect on the freedom of expression in Thailand," Robertson said.

On March 26 2017, Andy Hall, a British labour rights activist, was ordered to pay 10 million baht (US$321,000) in damages to a company that filed a civil defamation suit after he helped expose alleged human rights violations at its factory, by a court in Bangkok.

Seven individuals have been prosecuted in Pattaya for joining a pro-election protest in early March. This case brings to 79 the total number of people prosecuted for calling for an election. On 19 March 2018, Pattaya police accused four individuals of violating the 2015 Public Assembly Act and the Head of National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) Order 3/2015, the junta's ban on public gatherings of more than four people. The four are Anurak Jentawanit, leader of a red-shirt group called Ford Red Path; a former l��se majest_ convict, Daranee Charnchoengsilpakul; and Wirachai and Ari (surnames withheld due to privacy concerns) The police alleged that the four led the protest on 4 March in front of the CentralFestival Pattaya Beach shopping mall without giving prior notice to the authorities, and delivered speeches attacking the government. According to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR), the police earlier accused three other individuals in Pattaya for joining the campaign and will submit the cases of the seven to the public prosecutor on 28 March. The three others are Wanchaloem Khunsaen, Chindapha Thanahatthachai and Sirawith Seritiwat, an anti-junta activist. The TLHR also reported that since February, the authorities have filed six lawsuits against 79 people for participating in political activities urging the NCPO to step down and stop postponing the election. However, on 9 March, the public prosecutor of Pathumwan Municipal Court decided not to indict 28 out of 39 pro-election protesters at MBK shopping mall, arguing that the prosecution would yield no benefit to the public. The case will be submitted to the Office of the Attorney General for final judgement. Most of the remaining 11 are prominent pro-democracy activists such as Rangsiman Rome, Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal, Nuttha Mahattana and Sombat Boonngam-anong.

On 19 March 2018, Anurak Jentawanit, leader of a red-shirt group called Ford Red Path; a former l�se majest _ convict, Daranee Charnchoengsilpakul; and Wirachai and Ari (surnames withheld due to privacy concerns) who led the protest on 4 March Pattaya police accuse was charged for breaching the he junta's ban on public gatherings of more than four people.According to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR), the police earlier accused three other individuals in Pattaya for joining the campaign and will submit the cases of the seven to the public prosecutor on 28 March.

he Thai government should immediately end the incommunicado military detention of a prominent ethnic Malay Muslim human rights activist, Human Rights Watch said today. Aiman Hadeng, chair of the Justice for Peace Network, has been detained in a military camp in Thailand's Yala province since February 23, 2018, without effective safeguards against mistreatment. "The Thai military's incommunicado detention of a well-known rights activist should set off alarm bells given the army's long history of abuse in southern Thailand," said Brad Adams, Asia director. "The Thai government can address the growing concerns for Aiman's safety by immediately allowing him access to his family and lawyer, bringing him before a judge, and moving him to civilian custody or releasing him." On February 23, soldiers took Aiman from his house in Yala province's Muang district during a security raid. Holding him under the 1914 Martial Law Act, the military prohibited Aiman from calling his lawyer, confiscated his mobile phone, and detained him at the 12th Task Force Camp. He was later transferred to the 41st Taharn Pran Paramilitary Division for further interrogation, allegedly for involvement in the separatist insurgency. After several days in detention, he has yet to appear before a judge. The risk of enforced disappearance, torture, and other ill-treatment significantly increases when detainees are held incommunicado in informal places of detention, such as military camps. The Thai military's incommunicado detention of a well-known rights activist should set off alarm bells given the army's long history of abuse in southern Thailand Brad Adams Asia Director The enforcement of the Martial Law Act in Thailand's southern border provinces has long raised concerns that the rights of detainees are not respected. This draconian law provides military authorities with legal immunity and broad powers to detain individuals without charge in informal places of detention for up to seven days. The detention can be further extended for another 30 days, which can be renewed without limits, under the 2005 Emergency Decree on Public Administration in a State of Emergency. The Martial Law Act does not ensure prompt access to legal counsel or family members and there is no effective judicial oversight. Military authorities have often delayed providing information on detainees and their whereabouts, heightening concerns about enforced disappearance and mistreatment. There is no effective redress since the Martial Law Act bars remedy or compensation to individuals for any damage caused by military actions under martial law powers. Those who commit recognized criminal offenses should be appropriately charged and promptly prosecuted in accordance with international human rights standards. Since January 2004, a violent armed conflict has taken place in Thailand's southern border provinces of Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat. Of more than 6,000 people killed, about 90 percent have been civilians from both the ethnic Malay Muslim and ethnic Thai Buddhist populations. Human Rights Watch has repeatedly condemned laws of war violations by the separatist insurgents and Thai security forces. The Pejuang Kemerdekaan Patani (Patani Freedom Fighters) - separatist insurgents in the loose network of the National Revolutionary Front, or BRN - have maintained their presence in hundreds of villages in southern Thailand. The insurgents use state sponsored abuses and heavy-handed counterinsurgency tactics to recruit new members and justify their campaign of violence and terror. This rhetoric has been reinforced by an entrenched culture of impunity for human rights violations by government security forces. "The Thai government is fighting a violent separatist insurgency, but that does not empower the military to detain people without access to a judge, lawyer, or their family," Adams said. "By holding people incommunicado, the military authorities are only increasing distrust among the local population."

On February 23, Aiman, prominent ethnic Malay Muslim human rights activis, was taken by soldiers from his house in Yala province's Muang district during a security raid, and he has since been detained incomunicado.

BANGKOK - Thailand's military government has filed criminal charges against 50 activists over a recent protest in which they demanded the army give up power and restore civilian rule through elections, a lawyers' group said Friday. The Lawyers Association of Thailand said Friday that seven leading activists were charged with sedition and 43 others with violating a ban on political assembly for the February 10 demonstration, in which 400 people participated. They were charged earlier this week, but as of Friday morning there had been no public announcement and at least some of those charged had not been notified. The lawyers' group said the charges were meant to protect the military's position and threaten those who criticize it. The military ousted an elected government in May 2014. It has pushed back promised dates for new polls several times. The junta uses a number of measures to discourage dissent, such as a ban on political gatherings of more than five people, which are punishable by up to a year in prison. Sedition, defined as illicit efforts to bring about change in the country's laws, is punishable by up to seven years in prison. It is the second time in less than a month that the junta has charged the same group of young activists, some of whom have been charged multiple times for their nonviolent political activities. Thai courts rejected police requests to detain nearly three dozen activists over the same two charges last week, saying the protesters had cooperated with authorities and were not a flight risk. Narinpong Jinapuck, president of the Lawyers Association of Thailand, said the latest charges were filed by Col. Burin Tongprapai, a junta representative who has filed various charges against the military's political opponents. "These activists gathered to ask for their rights in line with the democratic process and within the framework of the constitution that protects them," Narinpong said. "They asked for elections, not anything else." "The group says that you must live up to your word and hold elections in November 2018 as promised, that is the stance that we share with the student activists," Narinpong said. Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Kruea-ngam said Friday that elections could take place in March 2019 or even later depending on legal technicalities. He said a definitive poll date would be announced next month. Thailand's military seized power with a promise to undertake political reforms and stamp out corruption, but public support has waned as the ruling generals have been tied to several corruption scandals of their own.

On 17 Feburary 2018, seven leading activists were reportedly charged with sedition and 43 others with violating a ban on political assembly for the February 10 demonstration, in which 400 people participated.

Despite a court ruling, the Thai Army has filed a defamation lawsuit against a torture victim in the Deep South, who exposed his experience on TV in support of an anti-torture bill. On 14 February 2018, the Internal Security Operations Command (SOC) Region 4 filed a criminal defamation charge against Isma-ae Tae, a founder of Patani Human Rights Organisation. The accusation is related to a TV show on 5 February where Isma-ae recalled his experience of torture by Thai soldiers when he was a student in Yala. On the TV show titled "Policy by People" on Thai PBS channel, Isma-ae revealed that the authorities beat him and pointed a gun at his head, forcing him to confess that he was responsible for the insurgency in the Deep South. He also proposed that Thailand should have a law against torture by state authorities to prevent victims like him in the future. The ISOC claimed that his speech defamed the Army and therefore sued him for damages. An ISOC legal staff added that that the Army will fight the case until the end regardless of pressures from civil society organisations. This prosecution is despite the 2016 ruling by the Songkhla Administrative Court which orders the Army to pay 305,000 baht as compensation for Isma-ae. The court also ruled that the authorities detained the victim for over seven days, which constitute a violation of the Martial Law.

On 14 February 2018, Isma-ae Tae, a founder of Patani Human Rights Organisation, was sued for defamation by Thai soldiers for discussing his experience of torture under the hands of Thai soldiers on television.

The authorities have summoned a student activist who planned to hold a pro-election rally in Chiang Mai. Meanwhile, the police are searching for a pro-election protester in Buriram. On 13 February 2018, a student activist (name withheld due to privacy concerns) from the Liberal Assembly of Chiang Mai University for Democracy (LACMUD) revealed that the police had summoned him after learning that the group plans to hold a pro-election protest on 14 February in front of the university. The student went to Phuphing Police Station to meet the authorities, but the officer who summoned him was absent. He added that the authorities also know his detailed personal information, like venues of classes he has to attend in a week. The activist assumed that the university provided his information to the authorities. He stated that the LACMUD had asked the police for permission to hold the activity but the authorities denied the request, reasoning that the group has to seek approval from the university. However, the group insisted on staging the rally tomorrow. In a related development, Yupha Saengsai, a redshirt, told Prachatai that police officers had visited her house in Buriram after she participated in the last weekend pro-election protest at Democracy Monument, Bangkok. The authorities claimed that she had violated the junta's order. "I'm not worried, but people surrounding me are very terrified. My mom, my dad and my child are frightened when they know[about the intimidation]," said Yupha. "Personally, I have nothing to fear. I've chosen this path. This is what I have to face. If there's an activity next time, I will go again." In April 2016, Yupha was arrested for joining a protest that urged the junta to free eight individual prosecuted for mocking the junta head Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha on Facebook. The authorities released her without charges, however.

On 13 February 2018, a student activist (name withheld due to privacy concerns) from the Liberal Assembly of Chiang Mai University for Democracy (LACMUD) revealed that the police had summoned him after learning that the group plans to hold a pro-election protest on 14 February in front of the university.

A news conference by the Democracy Restoration Group was called off on Tuesday following a police warning not to hold the event or risk violating a junta ban on public gatherings. Activists had planned to hold a news conference at the Maneeya Center in Bangkok - home to the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand (FCCT) - to call on the junta to keep its promise of an election this year, but police issued a warning that stopped the event from going ahead. The meeting was led by Nuttaa Mahattana, a television reporter and activist, who spoke to Thai and foreign reporters gathered outside the building on Tuesday. "The police contacted the management of the FCCT yesterday. They were worried that a press conference here would breach security laws and constitute an illegal assembly," Ms Nuttaa told reporters outside the FCCT on Tuesday. She is among seven activists from the Democracy Restoration Group who have been summoned by police to face charges of defying a ban on public gatherings after organising a protest in downtown Bangkok last month demanding that the junta not postpone a general election that is scheduled for this year. The police crackdown comes amid growing disgruntlement over the military government and a scandal involving the deputy prime minister that has led thousands to call for his immediate resignation. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has said an election will be held in November but there is growing uncertainty as to whether the date will be kept. Protests calling for the junta, formally known as the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), to return Thailand to civilian governance have mushroomed in recent weeks.

On 6 February 2018, A news conference by the Democracy Restoration Group was called off following a police warning not to hold the event or risk violating a junta ban on public gatherings.

Global rights group Human Rights Watch this evening said that Sam Sokha, who is wanted for throwing a shoe at a ruling party billboard last year, was handed over to Cambodia today by Thai authorities, a little over a month after she was arrested and convicted in Thailand for overstaying her visa. The rights group's deputy director for Asia, Phil Robertson, said contacts with local Thai authorities had confirmed that Sokha, who is recognised by the United Nations as a refugee, had been sent back to Cambodia this evening. "Forcing refugee Sam Sokha back to Cambodia is an extremely serious and absolutely blatant human rights violation by Thailand's military dictatorship apparently seeking to buy favors from Hun Sen," he said via email. He added that the international community should make Thailand pay a "serious price" for its "outrageous conduct" in deporting the Cambodian national. Sam Rithy, Sokha's former husband, said he had not heard of the deportation but feared for Sokha's life if she was brought back to Cambodia. "If the Thai authorities arrest and send her back, I am very concerned about her safety," he said. Sokha, a Kampong Speu native, posted a video on Facebook last April of her throwing her sandal twice at a ruling party billboard in Preah Sihanouk province. The first throw was aimed at an image of Prime Minister Hun Sen, and the second at a photograph of National Assembly President Heng Samrin. She was charged in absentia by the Kampong Speu Provincial Court for "incitement to discriminate" and insulting a public official, crimes carrying a combined sentence of over three years. Sokha fled to Thailand where she was arrested in early January and convicted for overstaying her visa. Until today, she was at the Suan Phlu Immigration Detention Centre in Bangkok, where Amnesty International reported that she was visited by Cambodian government officials to "pressure" her to return home. National Police spokesman Kith Chantharith said he was unaware of the deportation last night, and Foreign Affairs spokesman Chum Sounry, as well as Cambodian Embassy officials in Thailand, could not be reached. News of Sam Sokha's Feb. 8 arrest was reported to the government-linked media outlet Fresh News by a senior police officer at the Ministry of Defense, the paper said, though details regarding where and how she was taken into custody were not immediately available. Sam Sokha, who was sentenced in absentia to a two-year term by a court in Kompong Speu province for insulting public officials, had been registered with the United Nations as a refugee before being forced home, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a statement Thursday. Before being forced home from Thailand, where she had applied for political asylum, she had remained active on her Facebook page, regularly posting criticism of the Cambodian government, sources said. "Forcing refugee Sam Sokha back to Cambodia is an extremely serious and absolutely blatant human rights violation by Thailand's military dictatorship apparently seeking to buy favors from Hun Sen," HRW deputy director for Asia Robertson told the Phnom Penh Post via email.

On 8 Febuary 2018, Sam Sokha, a protester who is recognised by the United Nations as a refugee in Thailand, had been sent back to Cambodia.

The junta ratcheted up its prosecution of pro-democracy activists Wednesday by charging 39 with violating public assembly laws. The 39, which includes seven prominent movement leaders facing sedition charges, were ordered by police to appear Friday at Bangkok's Pathumwan Police Station for protesting too close to royal property. It was the first known use of that provision by the junta, which has relied on its 2014 ban on political gatherings to quash dissent in the name of maintaining order. The prosecution relies on Article 7 of an assembly act passed by junta-appointed legislators that bars any gatherings within 150 meters of a royal palace. If found guilty, the 39 activists face up to six months in jail and fines of 10,000 baht. Read: Junta Orders Pro-Democracy Leaders Charged With Inciting Rebellion Although protests have previously been held on the Skywalk outside MBK Center, one of those charged for joining Saturday's protest said the prosecution is the result of an increasingly anxious junta. "What they are doing is making people fear," Kan Sangtong said Thursday. Kan, a 30-year-old political science graduate student, said police and soldiers on Saturday did not inform them the protest was being held within 150 meters of the Sra Pathum Palace. "This is not rule of law but rule by law," he added. "This is a tactic to deter us." Across town on Thursday, dozens gathered to wave signs in support of junta deputy leader Prawit Wongsuwan directly in front of the Grand Palace without report of any arrests. Saturday's protest saw about 100 people gather on the Skywalk over Pathumwan Intersection to demand that junta leader Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha honor his promise to hold elections in November. High-profile figures including junta critic Sombat Boonngamnong and Veera Somkwamkid - an unlikely Redshirt-Yellowshirt duo - were charged along with some of the most visible democracy campaigners who have been vowing to keep up the pressure with more protests. Prayuth this week denied ever making the November promise and on Tuesday appealed to the public to support his remaining in power. The charge against demonstrators came after seven well-known protest leaders were charged with sedition and violation of the junta's ban on political gatherings. Both rounds of charges were filed by Col. Burin Thongprapai, the junta's legal representative. Burin said on Wednesday that 60 additional people will likely be charged for Saturday's protest. Burin on Thursday refused to talk to Khaosod English. Also charged was veteran citizen reporter and Redshirt sympathizer, 63-year-old Sa-nguan Khumrungroj, who sounded outraged when reached for comment. He said he would not be deterred from joining future protests. "This is lame... It's really a non-issue, and I am a journalist," Sa-nguan said, adding that security officers have been pestering his parents who are in their 90s for a long time. Sa-nguan asked why earlier protests in the areas did not lead to such charges and why concerts there are not banned. UPDATE: A group of Thai activists reported to police on Thursday to acknowledge charges brought against them, including charges of illegal assembly, after they staged a demonstration in Bangkok last month to protest a delay to a general election. Thirty-five out of 39 activists from the Democracy Restoration Group (DRG) reported to police as dozens of reporters waited at Bangkok's Pathum Wan police station. All 39 have been charged with illegal assembly. Nine face additional charges of breaking a junta order that bans public gatherings and with inciting unrest. The DRG protest last month on a pedestrian bridge in Bangkok is one of a steady stream of demonstrations that have picked up pace in recent weeks to call for a quick return to democracy. Some protests have been prompted by a scandal involving the deputy prime minister who is under investigation for failing to declare dozens of luxury watches. "The activists will acknowledge charges and then they will be taken to the court and it will be up to the court what to do next," a police office at the station told Reuters. Police said the group would be sent to court and face detention. "Public protests are a basic right for everyone," activist Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal told reporters before going in to meet with police. Police did not say whether a police arrest warrant would be issued for the activists who did not show up. Parliament last month changed an election law, dragging out the time frame for a general election due to take place in November. The junta has kept a tight lid on dissent since taking power in a 2014 coup. It has banned public gatherings and has ramped up arrests under Thailand's draconian l��se-majest_ law. Activists plan another anti-junta demonstration on Saturday at Bangkok's Democracy Monument.

On 1 February 2018, The junta ratcheted up its prosecution of pro-democracy activists Wednesday by charging 39 with violating public assembly laws.

Authorities have charged eight activists of a civil rights group with violating the military government's ban on public gatherings, after they launched a cross-country march on Jan 20 in a display of public discontentment. Since military rule began in Thailand in 2014, demonstrations have become a rarity, partly because of orders by the junta banning the public assembly of five or more people. The eight charged yesterday, who belong to the People Go Network of activists and academics, which organised the anti-junta "We Walk" march lasting until Feb 17, have denied the charges. The mobile rally kicked off on Jan 20 with 150 people led by Anusorn Unno, dean of the university's Faculty of Sociology and Anthropology. Responding to critics' comments the charges infringed on people's rights and freedom, National Council for Peace and Order spokesman Winthai Suvaree said: "That is just the personal opinion of some people who are already prejudiced." The activists, including Mr Anusorn and Nimit Tienudom, president of the Aids Access Foundation, have been summoned to acknowledge the charges. Other activists charged were Lertsak Kamkongsak, Somchai Krajangsaeng, Sangsiri Trimakka, Nuchnarot Taenthong, Ubon Yoowa and Jamnong Noopan. The eight are to report to a state prosecutor on Feb 26, who will decide whether to take the case to court, the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights group said. The prosecution was an "infringement of fundamental rights and freedom," according to the 52 civil rights groups which are allies of the walk network. The 450km march from the capital, to the northeastern province of Khon Kaen, has drawn participants from civil rights groups concerned about health care, alternative farming, natural resources and freedom of expression. It aims to spotlight growing public frustration with the junta, which has delayed a promised return to democracy, reined in free speech, cracked down on dissent, and pursued unpopular projects, despite opposition from rights groups. The eight reported to Khlong Luang police yesterday. About 100 supporters were present to give moral support.

On 31 January 2018, Authorities have charged eight activists of a civil rights group with violating the military government's ban on public gatherings, after they launched a cross-country march on Jan 20 in a display of public discontentment.

An anti-junta activist has decided to flee Thailand after learning that she faces up to 15 years in prison for sharing a profile of the Thai King written by the BBC. She is the second person charged under the notorious l��se majest_ law for sharing the story. Chanoknan "Cartoon' Ruamsap, an anti-junta activist and member of the New Democracy Group, has revealed on her Facebook page and to Prachatai that the police sent her a summons to hear a charge under Article 112, the l��se majest_ law, for sharing an article by BBC Thai profiling King Vajiralongkorn. Chanoknan said she received the summons on 16 Jan to report to Khan Na Yao Police Station, Bangkok, on 18 Jan. A military officer, Lt. Sombat Tangtha, filed a l��se majest_ complaint against her, she said. The activist said she was first confused as to why the police summoned her only in January when she had shared the story in December 2016 -- around the same time that Jatupat "Pai" Boonpattararaksa, a fellow anti-junta activist, shared the story and was almost immediately charged. On August 15, 2017, the court sentenced him to five years in prison but halved it due to his confession, for a total of two years and six months. During the trial, the court repeatedly denied his bail requests. Chanoknan observed that the delay was due to an internal management problem of Khan Na Yao Police Station. Chanoknan said she decided within 30 minutes after learning about the charge to flee Thailand to an Asian country. She asked Prachatai not to reveal the country where she is seeking refuge. "After learning about this, almost everyone told me to leave. But in the end, it's me who made the decision. The time I spent to decide was so short and quick. I had less than 30 minutes to decide whether to stay or to leave. What is difficult is the fact that I won't return after this journey. Then I went to say goodbye to my father and mother. Everyone was shocked but agreed. No one wanted me to be in jail for five years merely for sharing a BBC news story," Chanoknan writes on her Facebook page. "On the first day I arrived here, I just cried because I saw no way out. Everything seems puzzling and confusing. I didn't know how to deal with things. I kept asking myself a question whether I made the right decision to flee or I should go back to jail and then afterwards I could meet family and friends like before. But I got the answer that I couldn't backtrack now."

On 18 January 2018, A military officer, Lt. Sombat Tangtha, filed a l�se majest _ complaint against Chanoknan __�Cartoon' Ruamsap for sharing a BBC article in December 2016

A student activist has been arrested in Khon Kaen for peaceful, symbolic protest against the junta. On 21 December 2017, a military prosecutor in Khon Kaen detained Phanuphong Sithananuwat, 22, a student activist from the pro-democracy Dao Din group. Authorities arrested Phanuphong while he was attending a trial for another lawsuit, in which he stands accused of criticising the junta's charter in July 2016. According to a local source, the court has granted him bail. Phanuphong's friends collected money and offered the court 10,000 baht as surety. Phanuphong is one of seven student activists wanted for organising a peaceful demonstration against the military government in Khon Kaen in May 2015. Jatupat "Pai' Boonpattaraksa is also one of the seven. The other five suspects have not reported to the police. Phanuphong told Prachatai that the group has decided to defy their arrest warrants as an act of resistance against the military court. They believe the military does not have the legitimacy to try civilians for peaceful assembly. Meanwhile, Jatupat, a pro-democracy activist who is currently in jail for lese majeste, celebrated his graduation from his law degree today in front of the military court. His parents pulled a graduation gown over his orange inmate uniform. Tomorrow (22 December) marks the first anniversary of Jatupat's detention. Although Jatupat had to take some of his final exams behind bars, he has managed to graduate from the Faculty of Law, Khon Kaen University. The graduation ceremony was held at the university last week. Jatupat was convicted of l��se majest_ for sharing on his Facebook account a controversial biography of King Vajiralongkorn published by BBC Thai. He was sentenced to two years and six months in prison. Despite the fact that more than 2,000 people shared the same article on Facebook and millions read it, he was the only person arrested for l��se majest_. Jatupat has been awarded the prestigious Gwangju Prize for Human Rights in recognition of his fight against military dictatorship.

On 21 December 2017. Phanuphong Sithananuwat, a student activist from the pro-democracy Dao Din group was detained for peaceful protest against junta in Khon Kaen, Thailand.

The police have summoned Anon Numpa, a human rights lawyer and pro-democracy activist, because of a Facebook post criticizing a verdict. According to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, Lt Col Supharat Kham-in filed a complaint against Anon over his 2 Nov 2017 Facebook post, accusing him of contempt of the court and importing false information into a computer system under Article 14 of the Computer Crime Act. Anon's problematic post is related to a news report about the Khon Kaen Court's verdict on 2 Nov which found seven anti-junta activists guilty of contempt of the court for their activities in front of Khon Kaen Court on 10 Jan 2017. The peaceful symbolic activity was organised to give moral courage to Jatupat Boonpattararaksa, alias Pai Dao Din, a pro-democracy activist who has been sentenced to 2 years and six months in jail for l��se majest_. Among the seven was Sirawit Serithiwat, a well-known anti-junta activist who faces several charges from his political activities. The court sentenced Sirawith to six months in jail (suspended for two years), a fine and 1 year of community service. The court also prohibited the seven "from associating or gathering to conduct any activity or repeating the same activity." In his post, Anon copied the news story from Prachatai and wrote a comment, questioning if it is fair or possible for the court to prohibit the seven from associating with each other. Anon will have to report to the police's Technological Crime Suppression Division on 20 Dec.

On 14 December 2017. Anon Numpa. human rights lawyer and pro-democracy activist, faced computer crime charges for FB post.

The police have detained a citizen journalist at the Thai-Myanmar border for flying a drone over a disputed gold mine in 2015. At about 11:30 am on 29 November 2017, immigration police arrested Jamon Sonpednarin, a freelance human rights and environmental journalist, at the Phu Nam Ron border post between Mueang District of Kanchanaburi Province and Myanmar. He was detained at the Mueang District Police Station and will remain in custody until the arrival of an officer from Wang Saphung District Police Station of the northeastern province of Loei, which issued an arrest warrant for him in 2015. The arrest warrant accuses Jamon of trespassing and flying a drone over a controversial gold mine in Wang Saphung District in 2015 which was operated by Tungkum Co Ltd before its closure. Siriphorn Chaiphet of the Thai Volunteer Service posted on her Facebook page that the arrest warrant for Jamon was related to a case in 2015, when Tungkum sued villagers, most of whom are members of the anti-mine activist group Khon Rak Ban Koed (KRBK) (translated as "People Who Love Their Home'), accusing them of trespassing in the mining area. But the court acquitted the villagers in 2016, because the land permit given to Tungkum had already expired when the case was filed. Update 22 January 2018: Police are continuing their prosecution of Thai PBS citizen journalist Jamon Sonpednarin, as a lawyer revealed his case will be handed to the attorney on Monday and human-rights organisations urged authorities to drop the complaint against him immediately. The defendant's lawyer, Sor Rattanamanee Polkla, said on Saturday that police would conclude their case against Jamon and submit it to the attorney to decide whether to pursue it in court - despite two other defendants in the same case being found innocent by the court. Jamon allegedly trespassed into the old Thung Kham Company copper and gold open-pit mine in Loei's Wang Saphung district alongside two other local activists, Surapun Rujichaiyavat and Pornthip Hongchai, as part of their peaceful campaign urging the mine closure and environmental restoration. A court acquitted the case against the other two activists on November 25, 2016. Jamon said that he had neither been contacted about the complaint against him nor received any police summons until he was arrested at the border crossing in Kanchanaburi on November 29, 2017. Sor Rattanamanee said lawyers would submit a petition to the attorney noting the previous court judgement that Thung Kham has no rightful ownership on the mine area since its land-use allowance has expired. She said she hoped that, after receiving this information, the attorneys would understand the true nature of the case and not take it to court. The Fortify Rights and Community Resource Centre Foundation (CRC) groups have released a statement demanding the authorities drop the complaint against Jamon and urging the government to ensure freedom of expression and press freedom. The statement noted that, just eight days before Jamon was arrested, the government had announced human rights as part of its national agenda. The statement also highlighted that the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly are protected under Articles 19 and 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Thailand is a state party. Therefore, it noted, arrest and detention in this case were unlawful. "Fortify Rights and CRC call on the Thai government to drop all unwarranted complaints and charges against journalists, human rights defenders and other critics," the statement read.

On 29 November 2017, The police have detained a citizen journalist at the Thai-Myanmar border for flying a drone over a disputed gold mine in 2015. Update 28 January 2018: The defendant's lawyer, Sor Rattanamanee Polkla, said on Saturday that police would conclude their case against Jamon and submit it to the attorney to decide whether to pursue it in court - despite two other defendants in the same case being found innocent by the court.

The authorities arrested 16 southern environmental activists after brief clash with the protesters. At 4:30 pm on 27 November 2017, military and police officers arrested 16 key leaders of the network from Songkhla and Pattani provinces protesting against the planned coal-fired power plant and the Deep Sea Port in Songkhla. Some of the 16 are: Direak Haamnakhon, Somboon Kamhaeng, Aekachai Isarata, and others. According to Stop Coal Songkhla, the facebook page of the group, the 16 were taken to the police station of Mueang District of Songkhla. At press time, the police have not yet pressed charges against them. Several protesters were injured during the clash as the security officers used force to arrest the protest leaders. At the same day, Panawat Pongprayoon, the leader of a group called Thepha Development, with about 20 supporters handed a letter to the military at the 46th Military Circle in Pattani Province. The group state that they with 67 associated local organisations whose members numbered about 50,000 support the Thepha power plant project, adding that its construction should be done as soon as possible. The anti-coal fired power plant next work started their rally on 24 November. They aimed to submit a petition to Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, the junta leader and Prime Minister, asking the government to cancel plans for a 2,200-megawatt power plant and Deep Sea Port.

On 27 November 2017. 16 Southern anti-coal fired power plant activists were arrested in Southern Thailand.

A provincial court has handed six months suspended jail term to a prominent anti-junta activist while putting six other activists on one year probation. On 2 November 2017, the Provincial Court of Khon Kaen read the verdict for seven youth pro-democracy activists indicted with contempt of court for organising activities on 10 February 2017 in symbolic support of Jatuphat "Pai Dao Din' Boonpattararaksa that were designed to draw attention to issues in Thailand's justice system. The court sentenced Sirawit "Ja New' Serithiwat, a prominent anti-junta activist who is one of the seven, to six months imprisonment with 500 baht fine. However, the jail term was suspended for two years. The six other activists were ordered to wait for the penalty for two years and put on one year probation period in which they have to report themselves six times. The court also ordered them to do 24 hours of social service. Earlier in May, six of the seven activists delivered a petition against their charges to the court, arguing that their activities were nothing more than the exercise of the basic right to freedom of expression, and moreover reflected the views of many students and young people towards Thailand's justice system, adding that they did not cause any damage to property or endanger others. The court, however, dismissed the request.

On 2 November 2017. youth pro-democracy activists, were indicted with contempt of court by the Provincial Court of Khon Kaen, Thailand.

A progressive student has been dismissed from the position of Student Council President for staging a symbolic protest during a university initiation ceremony. He faces suspension in another ongoing investigation. On 31 August 2017, Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal, a progressive student from Chulalongkorn University (CU), posted on his Facebook page a university order that removes him and four other students from the Student Council. The other four students are Thornthep Maneecharoen, Suphalak Bumroongkit, Tattep Ruangprapaikitseree and Shinawatra Ngamlamai. The university cut their student behaviour points by 25, making them ineligible to hold any political positions. But CU's disciplinary action against Netiwit is far from over. He still faces an additional charge for using university premises without permission when he hosted a public hearing at the Student Council office to receive complaints and requests about a CU commercial development project. If his student behaviour points are demoted by another 15 or more, he will be suspended for one semester. Netiwit told Prachatai that he is saddened by the dismissal, since he has been in office for only 3 months. Being dismissed only two weeks into the semester, there remain many things he hoped to achieve, such as working on gender equality, improving student healthcare and the livelihood of communities around the university. "I feel sorry for both the university and other CU students because it could be difficult to find someone who is serious and interested in these issues," said Netiwit. He vows to appeal the case and hopes that the university will be fair and open-minded.

On 31 August 2017, Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal, a progressive student from Chulalongkorn University (CU), posted that the university ordered to removes him and four other students from the Student Council

The police have decided to press royal defamation charges against Sulak Sivaraksa, a renowned royalist and l��se majest_ critic, over a public speech about King Naresuan, who ruled the Ayutthaya Kingdom 400 years ago. On 9 October 2017, Puangthip Boonsanong, a lawyer representing Sulak, said the police took Sulak, 84, to the Military Court of Bangkok and submitted to the military prosecutor the case file in which he is accused of violating Article 112 of the Criminal Code, the l��se majest_ law. The military prosecutor will decide on 7 December 2017 whether to indict. Lt Gen Padung Niwatwan and Lt Gen Pittaya Vimalin filed a complaint at Chanasongkram Police Station in 2014. They accused Sulak of defaming the ancient king during a public speech on "Thai History: the Construction and Deconstruction" in October 2014 at Thammasat University, Bangkok. In the speech, Sulak said the legend of the elephant battle between Naresuan and a Burmese king was constructed. He also criticized the personality of the legendary Ayutthaya king as cruel. The notorious l��se majest_ law or Article 112 of the Criminal Code states "Whoever defames, insults or threatens the King, Queen, Heir-apparent or Regent shall be punished (with) imprisonment of three to fifteen years." Sulak told Prachatai in a video interview in 2014 that Article 112 only protects the present monarch, Queen and Crown Prince. This is the second l��se majest_ case related to a past monarch. In late 2013, the Supreme Court handed out a landmark verdict in a l��se majest_ case in which the defendant was found guilty of defaming King Rama IV, who reigned between 1851 and 1868, surprising lawyers and academics who have always understood that the law does not cover former kings. Naresuan, who ruled over the Ayutthaya Kingdom from 1590 to 1605, has become one of Siam's most revered monarchs as he was known for his campaigns to free Siam from Burmese rule. During his reign numerous wars were fought against Burma. Several films and soap operas have been made about the monarch. The most recent are the Legend of King Naresuan, comprising five movies telling the story of the young Naresuan till his death. One movie in the series was dedicated to the elephant battle alone. In a separate case, a military officer filed a l��se majest_ complaint against Sulak in 2015 for allegedly criticising Thai monarchs of the early 20th century, Kings Rama V and Rama VII, during a seminar entitled "83 Years of Thailand's Development after the 1932 Revolution of Siam'. The case is still being investigated by the police.

On 9 October 2017, The police charged Sulak Sivaraksa for royal defamation for making a critique on King Naresuan, who ruled the Ayutthaya Kingdom 400 years ago.

The police have summoned academics and students accused of breaching the junta's ban on political gatherings for participating in an academic forum. Teeramon Buangam, a master's student at Chiang Mai University and editor of Prachatham News, told the media that he received a summons from Changphueak Police Station in Chiang Mai on 12 August 2017. According to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR), the letter summons him to the police station on 15 August together with Chayan Vaddhanaphuti, Director of the Regional Centre for Social Science and Sustainable Development of Chiang Mai University, Chaipong Samnieng, a lecturer at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Pakawadee Weerapaspong, an independent writer and activist, and Nontawat Machai, an undergraduate student. The original reporting date typed on the summons was 23 August, but this was crossed out and changed by pen to 15. The summon states that the five are accused of violating the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) Head's Order No. 3/2015, the junta's ban on political gatherings of five or more persons. It does not, however, specify what action constituted the violation, but merely states that it is related to their involvement in the 13th International Conference on Thai Studies in Chiang Mai in July. Col Suebsakul Buarawong, Deputy Commander of the 33rd Military Circle of Chiang Mai, filed the complaint against them. The police, however, allowed the five to report before 21 August after a lawyer from Thai Lawyers for Human Rights representing the five negotiated with the authorities. Earlier, Puttipong Sirimart, Deputy Governor of Chiang Mai, submitted a letter to the Ministry of Interior to threaten Pakawadee and Chaipong after they held up placards reading, "an academic forum is not a military camp', at the Thai Studies conference.

On 15 August 2017, the police have summoned academics and students accused of breaching the junta's ban on political gatherings for participating in an academic forum.

Jatupat "Pai Dao Din" Boonyapatraksa has been sentenced to five years in jail, commuted by half because he confessed. The Khon Kaen Court passed the ruling on Tuesday afternoon after his lawyer revealed Jatupat had decided to confess. As of Tuesday, he was detained for 237 days. Jatupat was charged with lese majeste and violating the computer crime law for sharing on Dec 2 last year a BBC Thai Facebook biography of His Majesty the King, which was also shared by around 2,800 others at the time. He also quoted it on his Facebook account without adding any comment. The law student activist was brought to court at 9am on Tuesday for the second hearing of prosecution witnesses which, like the first day, was to be conducted in-camera. Shortly after Jatupat entered the courtroom, his lawyer came out to tell his parents that the ruling would be delivered in the afternoon because Jatupat had confessed before the examination of witnesses began. His parents declined to comment. Jatupat, 26, is a member of Dao Din, a human rights student activist group based in the Northeast, which had joined activities with villagers affected by development projects. Shortly after the 2014 military coup, the group staged protests against the junta. He was arrested in Chaiyaphum on Dec 3 last year on a warrant based on a complaint filed by Lt Col Phitakphon Chusri, deputy chief of the Operations Directorate at the 33rd Military Circle in Khon Kaen province. At the time, Jatupat was facing four other lawsuits, all for opposing the military junta. He denied all charges. He was moved to Khon Kaen the next day and the court granted him bail on a 400,000-baht surety. His bail was revoked on Dec 22 last year. The court decided he had made satirical Facebook comments challenging authorities and failed to delete the original post of the king's profile. His 10 subsequent bail requests were denied. His trial began on June 30 this year. In mid-April 2017, Jatupat was awarded the 2017 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights, selected by the May 18 Memorial Foundation of South Korea.

On 15 August 2017, Jatupat "Pai Dao Din" Boonyapatraksa has been sentenced to five years in jail, commuted by half due to his confession.

Today woman human rights defender (WHRD) Mrs. Suphap Khamlae, wife of prominent land rights defender Den Khamlae that disappeared on 16 April 2016, was found guilty of forest encroachment from the Phu Khiao Provincial Court, Chaiyaphum province, and sentenced by six months in prison. The 63 years old had just undergone surgery for ovarian cyst removal. The court found both Suphap and her disappeared husband guilty. The reading session of the 2011 forest encroachment case had been previously postponed five times due the disappearance of Den Khamlae. Other three defendants accused of the same charges were acquitted on 28 August 2012. Mr. Den Khamlae, was a prominent 65-year-old land rights activist who was fighting for legal title to land his community occupied in Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary, when he went missing in in Chaiyaphum province 15 months ago. His wife believes that he is not alive anymore. On 9 May, the court issued an arrest warrant for Den Khamlae, as he did not appear in court and was considered a runaway suspect. Today Suphap and Den Khamlae, in absentia, were both found guilty under the Forest Act and National Forest Act on encroaching into Phusam Phaknam National Reserve Forest. A skull was found in the forest earlier this year and raised suspicion that it might belong to the body of Den Khamlae. In June the court had postponed the reading of the judgment while waiting for the results of Forensic Institute investigations to prove whether the skull and the other pieces of evidence found belonged to him or not. Today the guilty verdict was pronounced. Suphap Khamlae is a long time resident of Khok Yao community in Kon San district, Chaiyaphum. She has been living there since 1968. The community is facing forced eviction from the land which they have occupied for almost fifty years. It is estimated that more than hundreds of people have already been evicted from nearby villagers, and fearing the same, human rights defenders (HRD) like Den Khamlae joined the Issan Land Reform Network to fight back and re-establish their rights over the land. They want to preserve the forest and their livelihood by opposing the Kon San Forest Project, which was established in 1978 by the Forest Industry Organization. It is worth it noticing here that charges were brought against Den and Suphap Khamlae after the HRDs had reached an agreement with the government that allowed them to live on that land; the Cabinet was informed of the agreement on 11 February, 2011. At the beginning of this week, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), in their Concluding Observations on the combined sixth and seventh periodic reports of Thailand, expressed serious concern that women human rights defenders advocating in particular for land rights, protection of the environment, and the rights of indigenous, rural, lesbian, bisexual and transgender women and Muslim women in the Southern Border Provinces, have increasingly become targets of lawsuits, harassment, violence and intimidation by authorities and business enterprises due to their work.

On 27 July 2017, woman human rights defender (WHRD) Mrs. Suphap Khamlae, wife of prominent land rights defender Den Khamlae that disappeared on 16 April 2016, was found guilty of forest encroachment from the Phu Khiao Provincial Court, Chaiyaphum province, and sentenced by six months in prison.

The prosecutor has charged seven anti-mine activists in Isaan with breaking the public assembly law and intimidating public officials. On 25 July 2017, the prosecutor indicted seven members of the anti-mine activist group Khon Rak Ban Koed (KRBK) (translated as "People Who Love Their Home') from six villages in Wang Saphung District of the northeastern province of Loei. The seven are Phonthip Hongchai, Ranong Kongsaen, Wiron Ruchichaiwat, Suphat Khunna, Bunraeng Sithong, Mon Khunna, and Lamphloen Rueangrit. The seven were indicted for violating the Public Assembly Act and intimidating public officials for leading more than 100 people to gather in front of Wang Saphung District Administration Office on 16 November 2016 while officials were holding a meeting to consider a request to extend the mining concession for Tungkum Co Ltd, a gold mine operator in Loei. According to the police, the KRBK members did not inform the authorities about the gathering in advance. Therefore each of the seven is subject to a 500 baht fine, adding that the fine will increase to 10,000 baht if they are found guilty. The seven were not detained after the indictment. They have denied the accusation and vowed to fight the case. The Loei Provincial Court has scheduled the preliminary hearing on 11 August 2017.

On 25 July 2017, the prosecutor indicted seven members of the anti-mine activist group Khon Rak Ban Koed (KRBK) (translated as __�People Who Love Their Home') from six villages in Wang Saphung District of the northeastern province of Loei.

Soldiers have visited the school of a student activist, asking him to cease criticising Prayut on threat of further intimidation. On 21 July 2017, Sanhanutta Sartthaporn, the Secretary General of education reform group Education for Liberation of Siam (ELS), posted on his Facebook account that he was visited by two plainclothes soldiers on Wednesday morning. The soldiers approached the student when he was having breakfast at school. They asked him about a recent ELS statement that condemned junta head Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha for his excessive interference in Thai education. After finding out that Sanhanutta drafted the statement, a soldier asked him to stop criticising "his boss" and showed a quote from Lt Col Burin Thongprapai that read, "I will catch them all, those who condemn the honorable Prayut and the NCPO. I'm a soldier. Slaves like you can meet me at anytime if you have guts." "If you don't stop criticising my boss, I will pass on your name and I don't know what will happen to you," said the soldier as quoted by Sanhanutta.

On 19 July 2017, Sanhanutta Sartthaporn, the Secretary General of education reform group Education for Liberation of Siam (ELS), was visited by two plainclothes soldiers at school. They intimidated him to stop criticising "their boss".

The military has intimidated a human rights defender in the restive Deep South, ordering her not to post comments on Facebook about human rights violations. On 1 July 2017, six men believed to be military officers in plainclothes visited the shop of the family of Anchana Heemmina, president of Duay Jai, a local human rights advocacy group in the Deep South, according to the Cross Cultural Foundation (CrCF). The men claimed to be from Internal Security Operation Command Region 4 (ISOC) and said their superior ordered them to visit her because of her recent Facebook posts about a woman whose husband had been arrested and held in custody at the Ingkhayutthaborihan Military Camp in Nong Chik District of Pattani Province as an insurgency suspect. The woman, who requested to remain anonymous, is nine months pregnant and told Anchana that it was very difficult for her to get permission to visit her husband while he was detained, adding that according to prison rules she was allowed 30 minutes visiting time, but the soldiers allowed her much less without any reason. Anchana recorded the information and posted it on her Facebook account on 29 June 2017. During the visit, which lasted for about one hour, the soldiers claimed that Facebook posts like that could cause damage to the reputation of the military and prohibited Anchana from commenting about the complaint, about the fact that ISOC has not yet withdrawn charges against the three human rights defenders, including Anchana herself, even though ISOC promised to do so, and about the alleged abduction of Daho Ma-taworn. They added that she should inform the military before posting any such comment online. The CrCF issued a public statement against the intimidation of Anchana. "It is simply an exercise of basic civil right to monitor the accountability of the government agencies and the freedom of expression which is protected by Section 34 of the 2017 Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)," reads the CrCF statement. The authorities should stop intimidating human rights defenders and drop legal actions against them, added the CrCF. Anchana Heemmina, nicknamed Mumtaz, aged 43, has been repeatedly visited and summoned by the military since 2016. She is one of the activists responsible for compiling a report on torture and other inhumane acts in the Deep South in 2014-2015. The report, written in collaboration with the Patani Human Rights Network and the CrCF, collected information from over 50 victims. The report details the inhumane practices against those detained under martial law.

On 1 July 2017, six men believed to be military officers in plainclothes visited the shop of the family of Anchana Heemmina.

A political activist was taken away by soldiers Tuesday morning to a local district office in a bid to prevent him from submitting a petition letter to the prime minister urging he reinstate June 24 as the country's national day, an official said. A senior district official who asked not to be named for fear of repercussion, said Ekachai Hongkangwan was taken to Bangkapi district office Tuesday morning in what he described as an attempt to stop the political activist from petitioning Prime Minister Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha to reinstate June 24 as Thai National Day. The move followed a failed attempt by soldiers Monday afternoon to convince Ekachai it would suffice to submit a letter to the office in the district where he lives. Asked if he was being detained, the official said on the phone the word "detained" was not accurate. "He was just invited since this morning. I don't know further details," said the source Tuesday morning by phone, adding that the military junta has dispatched soldiers to each district in Bangkok since the 2014 coup. The official said the district has no control whatsoever over the matter, as Prayuth has absolute power under Article 44 of the now defunct interim charter - which was kept in the 2017 constitution. On Monday afternoon, Ekachai said five officials visited his home in Lat Phrao, which doubles as an office, using an official van which bore a sign stating it belongs to the Bang Kapi district office. The senior district office confirmed the incident on the phone. "Please don't name me or I will be damned. What they did was to borrow our equipments and all those were soldiers," he said, adding however that a district official accompanied the soldiers. "The NCPO has the power and I must follow their orders." The official added that these soldiers who use the district office as their workplace, numbering at about 30, need not report to the district chief. The source said that about a dozen soldiers also use the district office as their sleeping quarter. On his way to offer Ekachai legal assistance Tuesday morning, human rights lawyer Arnon Nampa said he had just learned about the activist's whereabouts and called it a "coercive" move by soldiers. Ekachai's phone could not be reached at the time of publication. Junta spokesman Col. Winthai Suvari wasn't available to comment Tuesday morning.

On 4 July 2017, a political activist was taken away by soldiers to a local district office in a bid to prevent him from submitting a petition letter to the prime minister urging he reinstate June 24 as the country's national day

The military has taken a senior activist who campaigned against the l��se majest_ law into a military base. Kimpiew Sae-Tang told Prachatai that at 6 am on 2 July 2017 about 10 soldiers arrested Charoenchai Sae-Tang, his 60-year-old brother, from his house in Daokanong District of Bangkok, adding that his brother was taken to the 11th Military Circle in Bangkok. He reported that the soldiers did not present any warrant, but cited absolute power under Section 44 of the Interim Constitution for the arrested. They also confiscated the mobile phones the two brothers and Charoenchai's laptop. Charoenchai used to work as an assistant to Tourist Police and for Pearl Sydenstricker Buck Foundation before he became a human rights and political activist. He has been active in campaigning for the abolition of Article 112 of the Criminal Code, the l��se majest_ law. Kimpiew told Prachatai that his family will visit Charoenchai at the 11th Military Circle today. Article 112 of Thailand's Criminal Code imposes jail terms of three to 15 years for each count of defaming, insulting, or threatening the King, the Queen, the Heir to the throne, or the Regent. At least 109 people have been arrested under Article 112 since the 2014 coup d'_tat.

On 2 July 2017, the military has taken Charoenchai Sae-Tang, a senior activist who campaigned against the l�se majest _ law, into a military base.

On 25 June 2017, pro-democracy activist Rangsiman Rome was taken into police custody , one day before he was to petition the military government for information about a controversial project. In a live Facebook broadcast by user "Nui Abhisit," Rangsiman said police approached him at the Bangkok City Library at about 4:30pm and presented an arrest warrant on year-old charges before taking him to the Chanasongkram Police Station. "Police told me they just learned about the warrant," he said by phone from the police station just before 6pm. "It means the warrant never existed in the system before, otherwise the police would also be guilty if they didn't charge me." Rangsiman said he expects to be taken before a military tribunal tonight or tomorrow. He believes the arrest was ordered because he was going to petition the military government to disclose information about the deal it struck with China allowing it to build a high-speed rail connection between Bangkok and Korat. "Now we have to postpone it, otherwise my friends will risk facing the same fate," he said. He said since he was released unconditionally by the military court, he was never aware of an outstanding warrant in that case. "I've traveled abroad just fine," he said. Rangsiman was arrested in relation to charges stemming from distributing documents campaigning against the draft charter in Samut Prakan province one year ago on June 23, 2016. He and six others, then members of the New Democracy Movement, were arrested at the time and held for about two weeks. Rangsiman was charged with violating a special referendum law used to criminalize most public discussion of the junta-backed constitution, which was passed in August by the public. He was also charged with violating the junta's ban on political gatherings of more than five people. Rangsiman was also due to speak this evening at an event commemorating the 85th anniversary of the 1932 democratic revolution called "Start Up People: Start Talk & Music." He and his activist group, the Democracy Restoration Group, planned to petition the Official Information Commission to order the military government to disclose details about the deal it struck with China for the construction of a high-speed railway project. Rome is expected to be transferred to the police station in Samut Prakan province where he was originally arrested a year ago. UPDATE: On 26 June 2017, the court later granted him bail with a surety of 60,000 baht on condition that he not engage in public incitement, and not leave the country.

On 25 June 2017, pro-democracy activist Rangsiman Rome was taken into police custody , one day before he was to petition the military government for information about a controversial project.

A political activist was taken into military custody Saturday morning for attempting to place a replica of the plaque commemorating the June 24, 1932, revolt at the spot where the original mysteriously disappeared from earlier this year. Ekachai Hongkangwan, a 42-year-old activist working with political prisoners and lese majeste detainees, contacted a reporter at 8:48am to say he had been taken away by half a dozen police inside a nondescript van and was about to enter the 11th Military Circle in Bangkok, where opponents of the military regime are held in a special prison on the army base. Ekachai said he brought a life-size bronze replica of the plaque which sat undisturbed for decades until it was secretly removed and replaced in April with another bearing a royalist message. He said he planned to place the replica atop the new plaque. "I'm feel really fed up. They don't try to look for the old plaque and instead are protecting the new one. This is nonsense," said Ekachai on the phone, sounding more frustrated than fearful. Ekachai, himself a former lese majeste convict imprisoned nearly three years, said he had planned the move for some time, and someone donated him the life-size replica of the original plaque. Ekachai said he arrived at the Royal Plaza where the original plaque was removed with the replica plaque and 10 kilograms of cement in a metal paint bucket but was spotted and apprehended by police while he was approaching the spot. Asked whether he expected to be arrested, Ekachai said he thought so. "I thought so too. They don't search for the old plaque, and we don't know who owns the new one," he said, shortly before the phone conversation ended. Junta spokesman Col. Winthai Suvari wasn't immediately available for comment.

On 24 June 2017, a political activist was taken into military custody for attempting to place a replica of the plaque commemorating the 24 June 1932, revolt at the spot where the original mysteriously disappeared from earlier this year.

Despite an earlier agreement, the military has not withdrawn its complaints against three human rights defenders who exposed torture in Thailand's Deep South. On 20 June 2017, a lawyer representing Pornpen Khongkachonkiet, Director of the Cross Cultural Foundation (CrCF); Somchai Homla-or, Advisor to the CrCF; and Anchana Heemmina, President of the Duay Jai group, found that the military has not withdrawn its complaint against the three human rights activists. Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) Region 4 filed complaints against the three human rights defenders in May 2016, accused them of defaming ISOC by publishing a report, released in 2016, on the torture of Muslim Malays in the Deep South in 2014 and 2015. On 7 March 2017, Col Pramote Promin, Deputy Spokesperson for ISOC Region 4, said the military was withdrawing criminal defamation charges against them, adding that a joint committee would be setup to verify accusations of human rights violations in the region and to come up with mechanisms and frameworks to prevent abuses of human rights. According to Surapong Kongchantuk, Chairperson of CrCF "this case is of great strategic importance to demonstrate academic works and human rights works as people's rights of public participation under the Constitution. The people have rights of participation in providing information and monitoring of human rights situations." He added that the report was made possible by support from the United Nations. "Some of the victims have enough courage to file complaints or lawsuits against the government officers as an attempt to bring perpetrators to justice. However, many torture victims are still living in fear and not willing to make a complaint or file a case," Surapong stated. The report described at least 18 cases of alleged torture and ill-treatment since 22 May 2014, when Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha staged a coup d'_tat. In 2014 there were 17 recorded cases and 15 in 2015, a dramatic rise compared to previous years which saw seven cases in 2013, two in 2011, and three in 2010 (no information is available for 2012). All the cases involved ethnic Malay residents in the conflict areas who identified themselves as Muslim. In the violence-plagued southernmost provinces of Thailand - composed of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat and four districts of Songkhla - the authorities can detain citizens without charge for up to 37 days under the Emergency Decree and Internal Security Act. Special security laws have been in force in the region for more than a decade. Complaints were filed against 48 military officers and 13 police officers for committing torture and ill-treatment, but no officers have yet been charged.

On 20 June 2017, a lawyer representing Pornpen Khongkachonkiet, Director of the Cross Cultural Foundation (CrCF); Somchai Homla-or, Advisor to the CrCF; and Anchana Heemmina, President of the Duay Jai group, found that the military has not withdrawn its complaint against the three human rights activists.

Some 30 security officers have raided the house of the activist group Dao Din and confiscated documents about the controversial healthcare reform. When an activist asked to see a search warrant, a policeman gestured towards a military officer saying, "Here is the warrant." The raid happened in the early morning of 21 June 2017. Akhom Sibutta, a Dao Din student activist, was alone at the headquarters when the authorities raid in. The authorities told him that they visited the house on a "reasonable suspicion" without a further explanation. Akhom asked to see a search warrant from the court. But police officers gestured towards Lt Col Phitakphon Chusri, a soldier who spearheaded the raid, and said that "here is the warrant.' Phitakphon was a local unit leader of the junta's so-called peace-keeping force in Khon Kaen. He usually appears at political campaigns and activities criticising the junta in Khon Kaen. He was also the one who file a l��se majest_ complaint against Jatupat Boonpattaraksa, aka Pai Dao Din, for sharing a BBC biography of King Vajiralongkorn. Before leaving the headquarters, the authorities confiscated two documents about the amendments to National Security Act. Akhom asked the officers to sign their names in the search record but was rejected. When the activist asked to read the search record, the authorities rejected as well. According to The Isaan Record, Pol Col Chamlong Suwalak, chief of Muang Khon Kaen district police, said that the raid was on a suspicion that Dao Din was involved in the movement against the ongoing healthcare reform in Khon Kaen. Akhom, however, pointed that prior to the raid, various activist groups in Khon Kaen have received calls from security officers, asking whether they will have any movement during the junta head Prayut Chan-o-cha's visit to Khon Kaen on 21 June. Prayut was scheduled to give a speech on "The Mobilisation of Thailand 4.0 in Northeastern Region" at Khon Kaen University. In a Prayut's visit to Khon Kaen in 2014, five Dao Din activists, including Pai, briefly interrupted Prayut speech. They walked in front of the Prayut stage raising three fingers as a symbol opposing the junta regime.

On 21 June 2017, some 30 security officers have raided the house of the activist group Dao Din and confiscated documents about the controversial healthcare reform.

On 19 June 2017, The police have summoned for questioning the leaders of a protest against revisions of the healthcare law.

Military and police officers have prevented journalists from attending a forum on the controversial national park and wildlife protection bills, claiming that their presence could affect the image of the junta. At 7:30 am on 12 June 2017 soldiers and police officers intimidated members of civil society groups and other participants at a public forum on the new national park and wildlife protection bills held at the Human Settlement Foundation Thailand in Wang Thonglang District of Bangkok. The officers blocked the entrance to the Foundation during the discussion and prohibited reporters from attending the forum after they searched participants. On 11 June, Wang Thonglang District police summoned representatives of People Movement for Just Society (P-Move), key organisers of the forum, for a discussion, and ordered them not to hold a press briefing after the forum, adding that they would be closely monitored. Prayong Doklamyai, coordinator of P-Move, however, told the officers that the group would not obey them, claiming that the forum is related to politics and does not breach the Public Assembly Act as it is not held in a public area. Nitaya Muangklang, a local community leader from one of six villages in Chaiyaphum affected by the junta's "return the forest' policy, told the media that police officers visited her at about 11 pm on 11 June, asking whether she and other villagers were planning to attend the forum. The community leader told the officers that they would not go as they already attended a similar forum in Chaiyaphum last week organised by the Land Reform Network of Isaan (LRNI) . The new bills on national parks and wildlife protection have already been approved by the National Reform Council to replace the 1961 National Park Act and the 1992 Wildlife Preservation and Protection Act. Both are now being considered by the National Legislative Assembly. According to Panudej Kerdmali, Secretary-General of the Seub Nakhasathien Foundation, both bills are problematic because of the lack of public participation in the drafting process, adding that both bills aim at giving more authority to state agencies while ignoring the role of communities in managing and preserving the forest.

on 12 June 2017 soldiers and police officers intimidated members of civil society groups and other participants at a public forum on the new national park and wildlife protection bills held at the Human Settlement Foundation Thailand in Bangkok.

Soldiers have paid visit to the house of a well-known anti-junta activist, demanding her to cease all political activities. At about 2 pm on 7 June 2017, soldiers visited a house of Chonticha Jaeng-rew, an activist from Democracy Restoration Group (DRG), in Lat Lum Kaeo District of Pathum Thani Province. Chonticha told Prachatai that 4-5 soldiers visited the house when she was away, so they had a discussion with her mother. They told her mother that Chonticha should not participate in any political activity because she had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the authorities promising not to do so in the past and asked why was she able to travel overseas, claiming that the MoU does not permit it. "I just talked to friends why did they talked about the MoU[signed since 2014] because it is strange. They never talked about it before. For me, it has no longer has any effect because[political] roadmap of the National Council for Peace and Order has already passed," said Chonticha. She added that soldiers visited her house at least 30 times in the past, adding that the officers said they will visit the house again to talk to her. After the coup d'_tat, many high-profiles democracy activists were forced to sign the similar MoU with the authorities as a precondition for their release. Most, however, chose to ignore it.

On 7 June 2017, soldiers visited a house of Chonticha Jaeng-rew, an activist from Democracy Restoration Group (DRG), in Lat Lum Kaeo District of Pathum Thani Province.

Police officers and soldiers have barred villagers from joining a march in Bangkok protesting amendment to the National Health Security Act. On 6 June 2017, the People's Health Systems Movement (PHSM) staged a protest at the office of the United Nations in Bangkok demanding the junta cease efforts to amend the National Health Security Act that threaten to abolish Thailand's universal healthcare, also known as the "Gold Card" medical scheme. A member of PHSM, Rattana Thongngam, told media that in the evening of 4 June, a plainclothes police officer visited her house in Surin province asking her when and how she would travel to Bangkok to join the protest. Though the officer did not explicitly bar her from joining the protest, Rattana and other villagers decided to leave Surin for Bangkok earlier than planned to avoid further encounters with authorities. Other villagers in Surin and Buriram chose not to travel to Bangkok due to fears of further intimidation, after being visited by soldiers prohibiting them from joining the protest. Previously on 2 June, PHSM requested permission from the Dusit Police Station to stage a protest at the Education Ministry. The police, however, denied the request on grounds that the protest site would have been too close to the Government House. The police added the protest could be considered a breach of the Public Assembly Act and NCPO Head Order 3/2015 - the junta's ban on public gatherings of five people or more. PHSM subsequently relocated the march to the UN office, though the protest was closely monitored by security officers. No protesters have been arrested so far.

Rattana Thongngam, a member of the People's Health Systems Movement (PHSM), told media that in the evening of 4 June, a plainclothes police officer visited her house in Surin province asking her when and how she would travel to Bangkok to join the protest.

A group of Burmese migrants will appear before a Thai court on Wednesday charged with defamation after complaining of labour abuses in Thailand's multimillion-pound poultry export industry. In a landmark case, the migrant workers could face up to a year in a Thai prison and heavy fines after reporting alleged mistreatment and abuse at a poultry farm. Two of the 14 workers are also facing separate theft charges, for taking their timecards to local police officials as alleged evidence of long working hours. If convicted, they face an additional fine and up to seven years' imprisonment. The Burmese migrants allege they were forced to work 22-hour days at Thammakaset Farm 2, at times having to sleep in the chicken sheds with 30,000 hens. They also said their freedom of movement was severely restricted. Thammakaset Farm 2, in Lopburi, central Thailand, has continually denied the allegations. The farm owner filed defamation charges against the workers after the Thai authorities said they would not press charges following a police investigation. Lawyers representing the owner of Thammakaset Farm 2 refused multiple Guardian requests for comment. Campaigners said the criminal court proceedings against the workers are an attempt to silence criticism and protect corporate interests, despite a Thai government move in recent months to promote better migrant rights. "These prosecutions undermine the confidence and ability not only of human rights defenders and researchers, but also migrants themselves, to speak out[against alleged abuses]," said British activist Andy Hall of the Thailand-based Migrant Workers Rights Network, which is providing humanitarian and legal assistance to the 14 Burmese workers. "As a result, Thailand's important and well publicised efforts to systematically or genuinely address migrant worker exploitation are seriously undermined as migrants cannot speak up." Hall said that he is also being sued for defamation by the owners of Thammakaset Farm 2 for helping launch a social media campaign publishing the farmworkers' claims. Thailand, one of the world's biggest chicken exporters, is better known for its troubled seafood industry, rife with practices akin to modern-day slavery. But its poultry industry - which exports about 40% of its broiler poultry meat production to Europe - has also faced persistent allegations of abuse, debt bondage, high recruitment fees, long working hours and abysmal pay. "I'd always heard that work in Thailand was better paid than in Myanmar, but when I got to the farm it wasn't at all what I imagined: my wages were much lower than I expected, and I had no freedom, I couldn't leave the farm," said Saw Yen, one of the two workers being prosecuted for theft. "I can't believe the owner is suing us. My family is terrified something terrible will happen to me, and it's extra worrying because I've got two charges against me. As soon as this is all over, I just want to go back home[to Myanmar]." In Thailand a growing number of defamation cases have been brought against journalists, human rights defenders and whistleblowers in recent years, many of them through a vaguely worded computer crimes act that has seen people successfully prosecuted for sharing opinions in online chatrooms or "liking" Facebook posts. Defamation is a criminal, rather than civil, matter in Thailand. Since the military took power in 2014, there have been hundreds of prosecutions using the computer crimes act. Activists worry that revisions to the act - due to come into effect this month - will further cripple free speech. "We are seeing more self-censorship among civil society on sensitive work because of the higher recognition that a[computer crimes act] prosecution could bring," said Asia deputy director for Human Rights Watch, Phil Robertson. "This is an absolute disaster for freedom of expression in Thailand." Lawyer Nakhon Chompuchat, who is representing Hall and the migrant workers, said: "This is the first case where migrant workers have been prosecuted for criminal defamation. This is a new kind of challenge for the protection of human rights, not only for migrant workers themselves, but also for those seeking to protect migrants' rights."

On 7 June 2017, Don Muang Magistrates Court held a preliminary hearing in the case of 14 Myanmar Burmese migrants, who are charged with defamation after alleging labour abuses in Thailand's supplier of poultry to Thai agribusiness giant Betagro.

On 17 March 2017, Chaiyaphum Pasae was shot dead by military officials who were attempting to arrest him as an alleged drug suspect. He and a friend were driving to Chiang Mai City when soldiers stopped their car at a checkpoint and arrested them for alleged drug possession. Officials claim Chaiyaphum Pasae resisted arrest and was subsequently shot in "an act of self-defence". After the killing, soldiers and military officials visited Ban Kong Phak Ping on several occasions, while some members of the defender's community were summoned by the authorities. On 23 March 2017, Maitree Chamroensuksakul was threatened with bullets laid in front of his bathroom. Unidentified persons travelled to his house on several occasions to take pictures. During the night of 16 May 2017, while preparations were being made to commemorate "60 days after the death of Chaiyaphum Pasae", two plainclothes military officials were stationed in front of Maitree Chamroensuksakul's home. Memorial events linked to Chaiyaphum Pasae's death in the community have been held under heavy surveillance. Human rights defenders operating in Northern Thailand, particularly those working on minority rights, regularly report threats and harassment from the military. Anti-drug operations have been used by abusive officials to disguise their attacks on defenders who have exposed official wrongdoing or protected minority rights. On 29 May 2017, policemen and officers from the Narcotics Suppression Bureau raided the home of Maitree Chamroensuksakul in Ban Kong Phak Ping, Chiang Dao district during what the authorities claimed was a joint operation to search for drugs. The raid took place while Maitree Chamroensuksakul was returning home from a meeting in the capital with Michel Forst, the United Nations Special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders. His sister-in-law, Nawa Ja-ue, was arrested as well as a cousin of Chaiyaphum Pasae, Chanthana Pasae. The raid was reportedly led by the same regional police commander who told the media after Chaiyaphum Pasae was murdered that he had been living lavishly through money gained from drug trafficking.

On 23 March 2017, Maitree Chamroensuksakul was threatened with bullets laid in front of his bathroom. Unidentified persons travelled to his house on several occasions to take pictures. On 29 May 2017, police have raided the village of a murdered Lahu activist and arrested several of his family members in an alleged drug crackdown.

Kamolkate "Kate" Akhad was a 25-year-old nurse tending to an injured man in a Buddhist temple compound in Bangkok on May 19, 2010, when Thai Special Forces soldiers shot and killed her. She was among the last victims of months of violent confrontations between state security forces and "red shirt" protesters that left at least 98 dead and over 2,000 injured. On 19 May 2017, seven years after Kate's death, Thai police arrested her mother, Payao Akhad, and seven other activists staging a memorial performance, Walk for Justice, for those killed at Wat Pathum Wanaram. Payao painted her face white with a red cross on her forehead, mirroring the Red Cross on the uniform Kate was wearing when she was killed. The activists were later released at around 6.30 pm. Payao has been a tireless advocate for victims of the 2010 violence and their families. Her daughter's death spurred her role as a leading activist in what has proved a difficult search for justice. "My life has changed, from an ordinary housewife to a mother who has to fight for justice for my daughter," she said. Human Rights Watch documented soldiers' excessive and unnecessary use of lethal force during the 2010 government crackdown, including the military's deployment of snipers. Our research detailed how soldiers fired from elevated railroad tracks onto the temple grounds, which had been declared a "safe zone" by both the government and protesters, including the medic tent where Kate was working. Despite overwhelming evidence of army responsibility, no officers or soldiers have been charged in the killings. This failure of accountability is emblematic of the impunity that has long protected Thailand's security forces. Avenues for justice were further blocked after the May 2014 military coup. Coup leader Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, now the country's prime minister, has often said that soldiers should not be held responsible for the 2010 violence. The ruling junta, which has stifled free speech and suppressed critics, has shown no interest in prosecuting soldiers for abuses committed. Yet even in the face of growing threats against peaceful activism, Payao has relentlessly spoken out against proposed amnesty bills, the obstruction of investigations, and court dismissals of charges against former senior civilian officials. "They intercepted us probably because they feared we would find the truth," Payao said of her arrest on Friday. "Justice can prevail only when the truth is revealed."

On 19 May 2017, seven years after Kate's death, Thai police arrested her mother, Payao Akhad, and seven other activists staging a memorial performance, Walk for Justice, for those killed at Wat Pathum Wanaram. Payao painted her face white with a red cross on her forehead, mirroring the Red Cross on the uniform Kate was wearing when she was killed. The activists were later released at around 6.30 pm.

A labour rights lawyer has been imprisoned for defaming a court, leaving stranded his five-month pregnant wife. Yet this is far from the first time Thailand's courts have used "contempt of court' laws to target human rights defenders, political dissident and individuals who disagree with rulings. On 1 May 2017, iLaw released a report detailing the real-life story of "Saharat" (pseudonym), 37, a labour rights lawyer imprisoned in Saraburi province since 20 April 2017. The turmoil had begun on 19 May 2015 when Saharat and 51 laborers gathered in front of the Labour Court to protest the court's closing of a case in which they were plaintiffs. The court reasoned that the group had failed to attend court on the day of the hearing. Saharat maintains that staff from the court had called him to inform that the hearing had been postponed. At the demonstration, Saharat shouted, "Today I am sure that the Labour Court serves the interests of capitalists." Recalling the statement, a fellow lawyer and friend of Saharat reflects, "Usually Saharat is a man of few words. Almost always his wife speaks on his behalf. But I think that day, he must have lost his temper because he was so vested in the case." After this event, a prosecutor from Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province indicted Saharat of insulting the court and violating the Computer Crimes Act. On 16 March 2017, the Court of First Instance levelled a suspended sentence of two years, during which Saharat must report to a probation officer every three months. Simultaneously however the court ruled in favour of pursuing a separate charge of insulting the court against Saharat. On 20 April 2017, the court found Saharat guilty and sentenced him to three months in prison. "While imprisoned, he cannot care for his wife who is five months pregnant. Subsequently his wife must care for herself and the child alone. In addition Saharat is in charge of ongoing labour rights cases whose hearings will take place while he is in prison," stresses iLaw. Saharat has accepted that he did commit the act of insulting the court and did make a corresponding Facebook status that broached the Computer Crimes Act. But he is adamant on fighting the charge of contempt of court on the following grounds. First, under Thai law a single act, even if violating multiple laws, should not generate multiple punishments. Under such a situation, the offender is punished under only the harshest of the offended laws. Section 90 of the Criminal Code reads, "When any single act violates many laws, apply to the offender the law that levies the heaviest punishment." Second, Saharat plays several critical roles in society. He is the primary care-giver to his mother, who has been diagnosed with a hearing disability. His wife is five months pregnant. As a lawyer, Saharat remains responsible for some three or four cases that are proceeding while he is imprisoned. Third, Saharat has never received a jail sentence, which warrants the court levying either a mild punishment or a suspended sentence. As a testament to his good character, Saharat had worked as a pro-bono lawyer at the Thai Volunteer Service, and as a legal specialist at both the Omnoi-Omyai Area Labour Union and the Labour Crisis Centre.

On 1 May 2017, iLaw released a report detailing the real-life story of "Saharat" (pseudonym), 37, a labour rights lawyer imprisoned in Saraburi province since 20 April 2017.

Two belligerent youths have entered Chulalongkorn University to look for Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal, a progressive student activist recently elected as the Student Council's president of Chulalongkorn University. At 11 am on 8 May 2017, two individuals rode a motorcycle onto the university's campus in Bangkok and visited the Political Science Faculty to look for Netiwit. The two reportedly used threatening language to ask for the whereabouts of the student activist. Netiwit has filed a complaint to Pathumwan District Police Station about the incident. "Please give me and the new generation opportunities to prove ourselves. If[you] think differently, it is alright, but we should talk if[you] really love Thai society. Do not let the world and other people see that our society is a barbaric one that favours violence. I am afraid of course, but I shall continue to fight," Netiwit wrote on his Facebook account. The 21-year-old political science student first made a name for himself by refusing to prostrate in front of the Statue of King Chulalongkorn during an annual university ceremony to pay respect to the late monarch. Netiwit and his political groups have also been active in campaigning against the university's hazing rituals and for progressive educational reform. After he won the Student Council presidential election last week, many conservative and ultra-royalist Thais argued that his progressive and anti-junta political stance should disqualify him from becoming student president.

At 11 am on 8 May 2017, two individuals rode a motorcycle onto the university's campus in Bangkok and visited the Political Science Faculty to look for Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal, a progressive student activist recently elected as the Student Council's president of Chulalongkorn University.

Human rights lawyer Prawet Prapanukul faces up to 150 years in prison if convicted on 10 counts of lese majeste, legal watchdog Thai Lawyers for Human Rights said on Thursday. Mr Prawet, 57, has previously provided legal assistance to members of the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship, and served as legal counsel in a high-profile lese majeste case. He was detained in a raid on his home by police and troops last weekend. Mr Prawet appeared in Bangkok Criminal Court on Wednesday and was charged with 10 counts of lese majeste and three counts of breaching Section 116 of the Criminal Code, the equivalent of sedition. "Prawet faces 10 counts of breaking Article 112, so that works out to up to 150 years in prison if he is found guilty," Anon Nampha of Thai Lawyers for Human Rights told Reuters. "He also faces three separate charges of breaking Article 116, which carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison for each offence." A spokesman for the military government said he was unable to comment on the case. The lawyers' group said Mr Prawet was charged along with five others, who also faced charges under the lese majeste law. He is in pre-trial detention at Bangkok remand prison after being held incommunicado at the 11th Army Circle base in Bangkok, a facility the military uses as a temporary prison. The court granted the police request to further detain all six until May 14, local media reported. The identities of the other five were not released. One was identified only as Danai. Mr Prawet is accused of posting 10 messages insulting the monarch and three messages with content believed to instigate social disorder, police told the court. The suspect denied the allegations. Mr Danai denied similar accusations, but the details of alleged wrongdoings were not outlined in the police submission, the reports said. Thai Lawyers for Human Rights said this raised questions about the police request to detain Mr Danai. Three of another four suspects admitted they shared messages of Thammasat University historian Somsak Jeamteerasakul on Facebook pages, which concern the controversial disappearance of the 1932 Siamese Revolution plaque from the Royal Plaza. The other suspect denied the accusations.

On 29 April 2017, Prawet Prapanukul, a prominent human rights lawyer and critic of the monarchy, has been missing since security forces raided his Bangkok home.

Student activists from Khon Kaen University have been accused of contempt of court for participating in a peaceful gathering to demand Pai Dao Din's release. On 17 March 2017, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported that activists from the activist Dao Din group, based in Khon Kaen University, and New Generation Citizens (NGC), another political activist group in the region, received a court notice. The summons from the Director of the Administrative Office of Khon Kaen Provincial Court accuses them of contempt of court for gathering in front of the court on 10 February 2017 to demand the release of Jatuphat "Pai' Boonpattararaksa, a law student and key member of the New Democracy Movement (NDM). The activists accused are: Juthamas Srihattapadungkit, Payu Boonsophon, and Chatmongkhon Chanchiawchan, three law students of Khon Kaen University who are members of the Dao Din group, and Narongrit Upachan, a political science student from the same university and a member of the NGC. The court has ordered the activists to appear in court to hear charges against them on 24 April 2017. On 20 March 2017, the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights reported that Sirawit Serithiwat, aka. Ja New, a well-known anti-junta activist, Phanupong Srithananuwat, an activist from Dao Din group based in Khon Kaen University, and another law student who requested anonymity, received a court notice. The notice states that the three are accused of contempt of court for gathering in front of the court on 10 February 2017 to demand the release of Jatuphat "Pai' Boonpattararaksa, a law student and key member of the New Democracy Movement (NDM). The court has ordered the activists to appear in court to hear charges against them on 24 April 2017.

On 17 March 2017, student activists from Khon Kaen University have been accused of contempt of court for participating in a peaceful gathering to demand Pai Dao Din's release. On 20 March 2017, the authorities have accused three more youth activists of contempt of court for joining a peaceful gathering to demand for Pai Dao Din's release in front of the court.

Soldiers have summarily killed a Lahu youth activist after attempting to arrest him as an alleged drug suspect. On 17 March 2017, soldiers and other security officers of the Pha Muang Task Force deployed at a checkpoint in Mueang Na Subdistrict of Chiang Dao District in Chiang Mai Province summarily killed Chaiyapoom Pasae, a 17-year-old member of the Lahu ethnic minority. The soldiers claimed that they found a certain amount of amphetamine in the car Chaiyaphum was sitting in and that he resisted arrest by pulling out a knife before running into a bush. The security officers added that when they found the suspect in the bush he was about to throw a bomb at the soldiers, so they shot him. The only civilian witness of the event is Phongsanai (surname withheld due to privacy concerns), the driver of the car, who is now detained by the police. He will be taken to Chiang Mai Prison for remand as the court already approved custody. The killing of Chaiyapoom raises many questions because he was an youth activist who participated in many events to promote the rights of ethnic minorities in Northern Thailand. On 15 March, he was among 19 youth representatives of ethnic minorities who attended a youth activist forum organised by the National Institute for Child and Family Development in Bangkok. He was also awarded a prize at the 16th Thai Short Film and Video Festival for a short film called "Belt and Comb' and several of his short documentaries were broadcast on Thai PBS. The late activist was also a gifted song writer who composed ethnic folk songs about his community.

On 17 March 2017, soldiers have summarily killed a Lahu youth activist after attempting to arrest him as an alleged drug suspect at a checkpoint in Mueang Na Subdistrict of Chiang Dao District in Chiang Mai Province.

Dr. Anticha Sangchai is an activist and lecturer at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences on the Pattani campus of the Prince of Songkla University. Mrs. Daranee Tongsiri is a LGBTI activist, who is also life partner of Anticha. They have been working over LGBTI issues in the Deep South of Thailand for several years. Together they found a book caf_ in Pattani called the Buku Bookshop in 2013. Apart from being "an alternative bookstore" that sells many progressive books, the Buku Bookshop has been organizing a workshop called Buku's Gender, Sexuality and Human Rights Classroom (Buku Classroom), which its aims are to provide a safe zone for the discussion of gender and sexuality in the conflict area where sexual well-being and sexual violence are topics that have been for long time being sweep under the rug. The workshop then developed other kinds of activity such as the Buku FC, which is a football team that puts together men, women, both hijab-wearing or not, and LGBTI. The Buku Bookshop has also been working with many CSOs in the Deep South for supporting other certain issues as well including, inter alia, concerns over autonomous region, the abuse of torture. The story featuring the Buku bookshop and the Buku FC was broadcasted on 7 February 2017 at 1:30pm. After its broadcast, Anticha Sangchai and Daranee Tongsiri were subjected to various attacks on social media alleging that they were teaching people in the local to become homosexual, which goes against the Islamic teaching. They were called as Mushrik, which is a rude term for calling non-believer. Some of the status of Facebook stated that the Pattani separatist fighter should get rid of them. They were called as acts of Satan. Some of the article also stated that they are trying to subvert Islam and Muslim way of life, which is very sensitive allegation for the people working in the area. The WHRDs also received information that there are witch-hunting attempt in the social media communication group by religious Muslim women. They are trying to find the Muslim women university students who appeared in the documentary playing football. The face photos, images and Facebook ID of football team members appeared in the film were spread among the closed social media group. Most of online harassment were happened on Facebook and lasted long for almost two weeks since the broadcasting day.

From 7 February - 20 February 2017, Anticha Sangchai and Daranee Tongsiri were subjected to various attacks on social media alleging that they were teaching people in the Deep South of Thailand to become homosexual, which goes against the Islamic teaching.

The Supreme Court has reduced to six years the 10-year jail term handed down on Somyot Prueksakasemsuk, former editor of a red-shirt magazine, for lese majeste by the lower courts. Somyot, 56, was brought from Bangkok Remand Prison to hear the ruling read out at the Criminal Court on Thursday morning. The Criminal Court initially sentenced Somyot to 10 years in jail, five years each for two counts of lese majeste charges, for publishing articles of a writer by the pseudonym of Jit Polachan in the February and March 2010 editions of Voice of Taksin. The content was deemed lese majeste under Section 112 of the Criminal Code. His sentence drew protest from the European Union and from human rights groups, including Amnesty International, which designated him a prisoner of conscience. The sentence was upheld by the Appeals Court. Somyos brought the case to the Supreme Court, which reduced the jail term on Thursday. Since Somyot was also sentenced to one year in jail in another case for defaming Gen Saprang Kallayanamit, a former army commander, his combined jail term is seven years. Somyot, a former labour activist, has been in jail for nearly six years after his arrest as his 15 bail requests were denied since the interrogation stage.

The Supreme Court has reduced to six years the 10-year jail term handed down on Somyot Prueksakasemsuk for l�se-majest _ by the lower courts.

BANGKOK - Police on Saturday apprehended three activists who led an overnight protest in front of the Government House against the regime's plan to build a coal power plant in the south. In a rare act of civil disobedience in more than two years since the ruling junta came to power, more than 100 protesters from Krabi province demanded the government scrap the project, citing fears of environmental and health damages, only to be told by junta chairman Prayuth Chan-ocha on Friday the construction will go ahead as planned. After a night of rallying in front of the government's seat of power, police at about 10am moved in and arrested three protest leaders and took them into custody. The arrested were Prasitthichai Nunual, Akaradej Chakjinda and mom luang Rungguna Kitiyakara. The rest of the protesters were being blockaded by scores of police officers. The protesters said they were willing to be arrested for their causes. Junta chairman Prayuth said Friday there will be consequences for those who openly oppose the project; all acts of political protest have been banned since he took power in May 2014. "I urge them not to enter Bangkok," the general said. "Otherwise it will be illegal, and they will be prosecuted. As everyone knows, we prohibit this kind of movement." Protesters and environment groups say building a coal plant in the coastal province of Krabi would both affect the health of residents there and permanently damage ecology systems, but the government insisted one must be built in order to satisfy the nation's energy needs. Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva, whose party commands a strong support in the south, also spoke out against the coal plant on Friday. He told reporters the government should look for other alternative energy sources that are friendly to the environment and health instead of sticking to coal.

On Saturday, 18 February 2017, Police apprehended three activists who led an overnight protest in front of the Government House against the regime's plan to build a coal power plant in the south.

On 25 January 2017, Chumphon Court schedules for evidence and witness examination trial between public prosecutor (Plaintiff) and Mr. Song Zhiyu (Defendant), the mechanical design engineer and computer programmer, on charges under the Immigration Act B.E. 2522 (1979), despite the fact that Mr. Song has been recognized by UNHCR Thailand as a genuine refugee, who should enjoy international protection. Mr. Song is a Chinese Falun Gong practitioner and a human rights defender who advocated for the rights of Falun Gong practitioners, also published articles on persecution committed by Communist Party of China on websites. As the result, Mr. Song had been persecuted, detained, imprisoned, tortured, and enslaved in Chinese labour camps several times between 2008 and 2014. Until March 2014, Mr Song took an important decision to escape China from persecution by Chinese government to seek refuge in a safe third country via Thailand. In March 2016, Mr. Song along with other Chinese refugees who decided to take a risky journal by talking a tourist boat from Pattaya to seek asylum in New Zealand, were arrested by Thai authority after their boat capsized in Pathew Bay in Chumphon. Their stories became a spotlight and captured international and national media's attention in the middle of last year. Through Ms. Kohnwilai Teppunkoonngam, his lawyer and a member of Coalition for the Rights of Refugees and Stateless Persons (CRSP), Mr. Song told us that before his travel to Thailand, he was arrested, detained, imprisoned and forced to perform labor services several times in Chinese labor camps from 2008 to 2014, because he was Falun Gong practitioner whom Chinese authority deemed as a threat to the Communist Party of China (CPC). In addition, Mr. Song was a key human rights defender, who disclosed abuses and atrocities committed by CPC on websites and refused to renounce his faith. Until March 2014, he decided to break away from the abuses by Chinese authority and to seek refuge in a third country via Thailand. "The deprivation of freedom of expression, forced religion conversion, forced labour, torture and degrading treatment against Mr. Song constituted persecution and grave human rights violation under international law," said Ms. Kohnwilai. She also added that Mr. Song is not only a refugee under international principles, but he is also human rights defender and victim of torture. "The prosecution against him without regarding these grounds would be tantamount to human rights violation under international obligations which Thailand is bound to respect." Ms. Kohnwilai pointed out that when refugees has been prosecuted or criminalized, they will be transferred to Immigration Detention Centre (IDC), pending for repatriation or resettlement into other safe third countries which take several years. "During these periods, they will be vulnerable to exploitation by brokers, smugglers or criminal gangs as they feel helpless and totally lose their freedom, so they will strive to go further to any country they hope to respect their rights and freedoms. Prosecution against refugees, therefore is not a good strategy to stop smuggling and illegal immigration," she concluded. Not only Mr. Song, but there are several refugees from China and other countries who are detained without a definite timeframe in IDC, Suan Plu, because they cannot return to the countries where their lives will be at risk. Among them are Mrs. Gu Qiao and her 1-year-old child, Falun Gong refugees who shared the same boat and journey with Mr. Song in March 2014. Although Thailand has not yet signed the Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, it is party to several human rights instruments, particularly the Convention against Torture which enshrines principle of non-refoulement. However in recent years, Thai government secretly sent back many Chinese refugees to China. Coalition for the Rights of Refugees and Stateless Persons (CRSP), therefore, calls for Thailand's commitment on alternative to detention measures, reviewing of Immigration Act B.E. 2522 (1979), and establishment of a special agency to screen urban refugees and to provide temporary stay in Thailand during their waiting periods for resettlement in other countries. All of these would contribute to sustainable solutions for Thailand to resolve refugee issues.

On 25 January 2017, Chumphon Court schedules for evidence and witness examination trial between public prosecutor (Plaintiff) and Mr. Song Zhiyu (Defendant), the mechanical design engineer and computer programmer, on charges uder the Immigration Act B.E. 2522 (1979), despite the fact that Mr. Song has been recognized by UNHCR Thailand as a genuine refugee.

The military has prohibited university lecturers and students to organise an event in support for an anti-junta activist accused of l��se majest_, saying that Thai people are still mourning for the late King Bhumibol. - On 11 January 2017, Asst. Prof. Winai Phoncharoen of Mahasarakham University told Prachatai that military officers of Mahasarakham Province forbid him from organising activity to show solidarity with Jatuphat "Pai' Boonpattaraksa, the first person charged with l��se majest_ under the reign of King Vajiralongkorn. �_�_ Winai said that him and university students on 10 January contacted the police to ask for permission to hold the event to light up candles for Jatuphat and the officers informed him that they would deploy officers to maintain security at the event. On the evening of the same day, however, the police informed him that the military of �_Mahasarakham Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) prohibits the gathering. The next day, Winai and others lecturers travelled to the ISOC Unit to ask for permission for the event again from the military officers and provincial administrative officers. The Deputy Governor of the Province told him that the event cannot be held because it could cause instability, adding that when the time is right the court would eventually release Jatuphat. He further said that "Thai people are still mourning for the late King Bhumibol and no symbolic event should be held at this time." Jatuphat, one of the key members of New Democracy Movement (NDM), was arrested on 3 December 2016, only two days after King Rama X's accession. He was accused of violating Article 112 of the Criminal Code for sharing on his Facebook account a controversial biography of the King published by BBC Thai. At first, Khon Kaen Provincial Court granted Jatuphat bail after his arrest. However, the court revoked the bail on 22 December after he posted a satirical message mocking authorities on his Facebook account. The message leading to the revocation read, "Economy is poor but they (authorities) took my money for bail."

On 11 January 2017, military officers of Mahasarakham Province, Thailand, have prohibited university lecturers and students to organise an event in support for Jatuphat __�Pai' Boonpattaraksa, the anti-junta activist accused of l�se majest _ for sharing a controversial biography of the King published by BBC Thai, reasoning that it could cause instability and that Thai people are still mourning for the late King Bhumibol.

Several prominent red shirt leaders have been given prison terms for leading a demonstration against the President of Thailand's Privy Council. - On 9 January 2016, the Criminal Court read the Appeal Court's verdict on ten red shirt activists accused of unlawful assembly for leading a demonstration against General Prem Tinsulanonda, the President of the Privy Council. - The defendants were accused of leading a crowd of several thousand to Prem's residence on 22 July 2007 to demand his resignation. The group included several prominent red shirt leaders. The protesters alleged that Prem had sponsored the 2006 coup. - Among the ten defendants are Nattawut Saikua, a leader of the anti-establishment United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD), Veerakarn Musikapong, a former UDD leader, and Weng Tojirakarn, a former MP for the Pheu Thai party. - The harshest punishment of 3 years was handed to Nopparut Worachitwutthikul as the leader of the unlawful assembly. - However, the Appeals Court classified four of the group as only accomplices to the crime, reducing their jail terms to 1 year for obstructing the work of public officials. - Nattawut has already publically announced the intention of the defendants and their lawyers to prepare evidence to take the case to the Supreme Court. Emphasising that he respects the court's verdict, Nattawut nevertheless stated that it is their right to appeal until they have exhausted the judicial process. He maintains the fight is not over. - The Appeal Court's verdict was a revision of the decision by the Court of First Instance that found all the defendants guilty of unlawful assembly on two counts. The Appeals Court concluded from the evidence that the defendants were guilty of only one offence, reasoning they had but the single intention of creating chaos. - The Court of First Instance had sentenced four of the defendants to jail terms of 4 years and 4 months each and one to 2 years and 8 months, while two others were acquitted. The status of the remaining three defendants remains pending. - The Appeals Court revised the sentences after comparing witness statements from policemen, reporters and two photographers and recordings of the event. - Following the verdict, the defendant's legal team announced on Facebook that they are working on temporary bail for the five convicted. The Appeals Court set bail at 500,000 baht in cash per defendant while the Supreme Court considers the final bail. The defendants are forbidden to leave the country. �_

On 9 January 2017, the Criminal Court read the Appeal Court's verdict on red shirt activists accused of unlawful assembly for leading a demonstration against General Prem Tinsulanonda, the President of the Privy Council. The harshest punishment of 3 years was handed to Nopparut Worachitwutthikul as the leader of the unlawful assembly. The Appeals Court classified four of the group as only accomplices to the crime, reducing their jail terms to 1 year for obstructing the work of public officials. The Appeal Court's verdict was a revision of the decision by the Court of First Instance that found all the defendants guilty of unlawful assembly.

Police in northeastern Thailand have summoned seven anti-mine activists, accusing them of intimidating district officials and unlawful assembly. On 18 December 2016, seven members of an activist group called Khon Rak Ban Koed (KRBK), translated as "People Who Love Their Home', reported to Wang Saphung Police Station in Loei Province after one of them received a summons in early December. KRBK is an anti-mine group comprising villagers from six villages in Wang Saphung District. The seven are Phonthip Hongchai, Ranong Kongsaen, Wiron Ruchichaiwat, Suphat Khunna, Bunraeng Sithong, Mon Khunna, and Lamphloen Rueangrit. The police accused them of violating the Public Assembly Act and intimidating public officials for leading more than 100 people to gather in front of Wang Saphung District Administration Office on 16 November 2016 while the officials were holding a meeting to consider a request to extend the mining concession for Tungkum Co Ltd, a gold mine operator in Loei. The police said that the KRBK members did not inform the authorities about the gathering before holding it. Therefore, each of the seven is subject to a 500 baht fine, adding that the fine will increase to 10,000 baht if they are found guilty. The seven, however, denied the accusation and refused the pay the fine, arguing that they and other villagers merely gathered in front of the Wang Saphung District Administration Office to observe the meeting on the mining concession. Around 50 Wang Saphung villagers travelled to the police station to give moral support for the seven as they were listening to the accusations against them. Tension between villagers and the company reached its peak in September 2013 when the villagers barricaded the mine entrance, blocking trucks, each of which normally carries 15 tons of cyanide waste, from passing through their villages. Although the sound of the machines disappeared and the sound of chirping birds returned, the villagers had to live in fear of judicial harassment, thugs, gunmen and death threats. Currently, Tungkum has halted mining operations since mid-2013. However, the company is currently trying to get permission from the authorities to renew the mining concession in Wang Saphung District.

On 18 December 2016, seven members of an activist group called Khon Rak Ban Koed (KRBK), translated as __�People Who Love Their Home', have been summoned for intimidating district officials and unlawful assembly, for leading more than 100 people to gather in front of Wang Saphung District Administration Office on 16 November 2016 in Loei Province, Thailand.

Withdrawing an earlier ruling, a district court has sentenced a prominent anti-junta activist to two months in prison with the jail term suspended for one year. On 19 December 2016, Pathumwan District Court of Bangkok read the verdict of the Court of First Instance for Apichat Pongsawat, a 27-year-old prominent anti-junta activist. The court sentenced Apichat to two months in prison and a 6,000 baht fine for violating the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) Head's Order No. 3/2015 and Article 215 of the Criminal Code. The NCPO Head's Order prohibits any political gathering of five or more persons while Article 215 states that a person who assembles with 10 or more people to disrupt peace and order faces imprisonment not exceeding six months or a fine not exceeding 6,000 Baht or both. He faced these charges for participating in an anti-junta protest in the immediate aftermath of the 2014 coup d'_tat. The court, however, suspended the jail term for one year because Apichat had never committed any crime before. In his defence, Apichat testified during the trial that he did not incite people to participate in protests against the coup-makers, but merely joined the protest of his own accord because he has the right to do so according to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Thailand is a state party. He argued that the 2014 coup d'_tat was not yet successful at that time. Therefore, it was the duty of Thai citizens to protect the constitution against the coup-makers. The court, however, dismissed Apichat's testimony, reasoning that the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) led by Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, the junta leader and Prime Minister, had by then already gained the authority to rule the country after staging the coup d'_tat. Apichat, a former graduate law student of Thammasat University and official at the Law Reform Commission of Thailand (LRCT), was among the first group of people to be arrested by the coup-makers in the immediate aftermath of the May 2014 coup d'_tat. On 23 May 2014, one day after the coup, he was arrested by military officers in front of the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC) in central Bangkok holding a flyer reading "I will not accept barbaric power" and shouting pro-democracy slogans such as "return power to the people". The military detained him for seven days under martial law then in force, before transferring him to Bangkok Remand Prison for another 23 days in detention. Before his release, Apichat's family offered bail of 1,000,000 baht (about 27,751 USD) four times, which the court rejected repeatedly, citing flight risk. Besides violating the junta's ban on assemblies, the prosecutors also indicted Apichat for offenses under Articles 215, 216, and 368 of Thailand's Criminal Code. During the first hearing on the case in November 2015, the judge told Apichat and his lawyers that the case was not serious. Even if he was proven guilty, the sentence would not be heavy. Apichat maintained that he would fight until the end to prove his innocence even though doing so might result in a heavier sentence. Earlier in February 2016, the Court of First Instance dismissed charges against Apichat on grounds that the prosecution did not present documents on the division of authority among public officers to sufficiently affirm that police officers from the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) had the authority to interrogate Apichat. The Appeal Court, however, later ordered the lower court to reconsider its earlier ruling, reasoning that CSD police officers did have the authority to interrogate the suspect. Apichat said that he will make a request to appeal the ruling to prove his innocence.

On 19 December 2016, withdrawing an earlier ruling, Pathumwan District Court in Bangkok, Thailand, sentenced Mr. Apichat Pongsawat, anti-junta activist, to two months suspended jail term and a 6,000 baht fine for protesting against the military coup on 23 May 2014 in front of the Bangkok Art and Cultural Centre. He was accused of violating the NCPO Order No. 3/2015 which bans political gathering of more than five persons and Article 215 of the Criminal Code (assembly of more than ten persons with an intention to incite violence).

The Thai military has threatened a prominent anti-junta activist from the New Democracy Movement (NDM) with the l��se majest_ law over a Facebook post. On 8 December 2016, Chanoknan Ruamsap, a key member of NDM, posted a message on her Facebook account explaining that the military contacted her family while she was in Brazil. - "My mother just called me from Thailand, telling me that the military called her to talk about the Facebook status I posted three days ago about the monarchy.[They] said I might be detained at the airport once I return to Thailand ... for an offence under Article 112[of the Criminal Code]" wrote Chanoknan on her Facebook account. The activist added, "To any soldier who might read this message, inform your units that pressuring my family will not shut me up." Chanoknan said that she does not believe that that any of her Facebook posts are defamatory to the Thai Monarchy. On 3 December, she shared on Facebook a biography of King Vajiralongkorn, Rama X, published by BBC Thai. On 5 December she shared another article published by the Daily Telegraph about King Rama X. Authorities are currently investigating whether the BBC Thai article on King Rama X, which has already been censored, violates the l��se majest_ law. Many ultra-royalists have criticised BBC Thai for the article, saying that its content defames to the new King of the country. Nevertheless the article was shared by almost 3000 other users. On 3 December, police officers arrested Jatuphat Boonpattaraksa, a key member of the New Democracy Movement (NDM) anti-junta activist group, for sharing the biography on his Facebook account. After one day of detention, Khon Kaen Provincial Court granted him bail to a tune of 400,000 baht. Chanoknan will have to stand trial at the Military Court of Bangkok on 23 December over an unrelated charge of defying the Thai junta's ban on political gatherings. The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) Order No. 3/2015 prohibits political gatherings of five or more persons. She and five other key members of the NDM were indicted for organising a field trip to Prachuap Khiri Khan province to investigate the Rajabhakti Park corruption scandals.

On 8 December 2016, Chanoknan Ruamsap, an anti-junta activist and a key member of NDM, revealed that the Thai military contacted her family while she was in Brazil warning them that she might be charged of l�se majest _ law for her social media posts about King Rama X .

A provincial court has detained three anti-junta activists accused of discrediting the junta's referendum on its controversial draft constitution. On 13 December 2016, the Provincial Court of Phra Khanong District, Bangkok detained Piyarat Jongthep, the head of the For Friends Association, an association providing assistance to political prisoners and dissidents. Also detained were Jirawat Aekakkaranuwat and Thongtham Kaewpanpruek, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported. The detainment came after the public prosecutor indicted them for disrupting the controversial referendum over the junta-sponsored draft constitution that took place on 7 August 2016. Two university lecturers used their positions to submit bail requests for the three. However, the court denied bail, reasoning that the lecturers are not related to the three and are not their employers. The defence lawyer of the three said that on 14 December he will try to raise 200,000 baht for each of the three and submit a bail request for them again. Piyarat was detained on 7 August 2016 after he tore up his referendum ballot paper at a polling station before shouting the slogan "dictatorship shall be ruined and democracy shall triumph". He was indicted of violating Articles 59 and 60 of the controversial Public Referendum Act together with Articles 188 and 358 of the Criminal Code. As for Jirawat and Thongtham, they were accused of violating Article 60 of the Public Referendum Act for recording a video clip of Piyarat as he was tearing up the ballot paper and posted it on Facebook. In a hand-written statement, Piyarat wrote "I will fight the case in a court that has used the power of dictatorship to distort the law's legitimacy and democratic principles. I will fight the case in a judicial system that arrests and imprisons those who criticise the constitution draft. This is a draft that destroys the principles of law and the rule of law to such a degree that it will be difficult to find a solution and which lacks security for the liberty and freedom of the Thai people."

On 13 December 2016, the Provincial Court of Phra Khanong District, Bangkok, detained Piyarat Jongthep, the head of the For Friends Association, an association providing assistance to political prisoners and dissidents, and the activists Jirawat Aekakkaranuwat and Thongtham Kaewpanpruek. They are accused of discrediting the junta's referendum on its controversial draft constitution.

CHAIYAPHUM - A northeastern activist and dissident was arrested Saturday morning and accused of defaming the monarchy for sharing a BBC Thai biography of the new King. Officers arrested Jatupat "Pai" Boonpattararaksa, a member of community rights group Dao Din, while he was at a religious event at Wat Pasukato in Chaiyaphum's Kaeng Khro district. Jatupat livestreamed part of the incident via Facebook. The 25-year-old law student was later taken to the district office before being sent to Khon Kaen Provincial Station where he was placed in custody. The arrest warrant was issued Friday, according to a copy posted online by Wiboon Boonpattararaksa, Jatupat's father and lawyer. It said Jatupat committed lese majeste under Article 112 of the Penal Code and indicated he could serve three years for the offense. Ceremonies formally installing King Rama X to the throne were completed Thursday evening. Jatupat reportedly shared and quoted an article from BBC Thai on the biography of his life early Friday morning at about 5am. "The decision[to run the biography] was made in London. We have no say about it," BBC Southeast Asia Bureau Chief Jonathan Head said Saturday afternoon by telephone. He didn't expect either the BBC or BBC Thai to make any statement about the arrest. "It's far too sensitive," Head said. BBC Thai has reported the arrest, saying that more than 2,600 people had also shared the story. Back in August, Jatupat was jailed two weeks in Khon Kaen for handing leaflets out urging people to vote against the junta-sponsored constitution. UPDATE: 16 January 2017 A Khon Kaen appeals court Friday dismissed a request to free activist Jatupat "Pai" Boonpattararaksa on bail. Jatupat, a community rights and democracy activist who has campaigned against military rule, has been held in prison since December for sharing a BBC Thai biography of King Rama X the authorities deemed offensive to the monarchy. His was briefly released on bail only to have it revoked Dec. 22 for complaining about its cost. Jatupat's lawyers had appealed, but the upper court today affirmed the lower court's ruling. Defense lawyers said they will offer a higher bond when they seek bail again in the coming days. Jatupat was arrested Dec. 3 for sharing on Facebook the BBC Thai article, which was published after King Vajiralongkorn ascended to the throne. He was later charged with defaming the monarchy, a crime known as lese majeste which is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. After Jatupat was freed the next day, police asked the court to revoke his bail because he complained online about the large bond - 400,000 baht - required by the court. Investigators said his remarks mocked the justice system and instigated unrest. UPDATE: On 30 June 2017, A provincial court has for the 10th time refused bail request to release Jatuphat "Pai Dao Din' Boonpattararaksa. UPDATE: On 15 August 2017, the Provincial Court of Khon Kaen sentenced Jatupat Boonpattararaksa to two and a half years imprisonment for violating Article 112 of the Criminal Code, the l��se majest_ law. The defender was originally sentenced to five years in jail, however this sentence was reduced after he pleaded guilty to sharing material deemed insulting towards the country's monarchy.

On 3 December 2016, Jatupat "Pai" Boonpattararaksa, a 25-year-old law student and a key member of the pro-democracy groups Dao Din and New Democracy Movement (NDM), was arrested by plainclothes police and accused of defaming the monarchy for sharing a BBC Thai biography of the new King. He was taken to the Kaeng Khro Provincial Police Station, Chaiyaphum, Northeastern Thailand. UPDATE: On 6 January 2017, a Khon Kaen appeals court dismissed a request to free activist Jatupat "Pai" Boonpattararaksa on bail.

Thailand: Proposed amendments to Computer-Related Crime Act fail to address human rights concerns - Bangkok, 25 October 2016 - We, the undersigned international human rights organizations, urge Thailand's National Legislative Assembly (NLA) to reject currently proposed amendments to the 2007 Computer-Related Crime Act (CCA) and to instead adopt amendments that would bring the law into line with Thailand's obligations under international law, including its obligation to uphold the rights to freedom of expression, opinion, and privacy. - Prosecutions under the CCA have risen sharply in the past two years. Based on information the Ministry of Justice provided to Fortify Rights, there have been 399 prosecutions in 2016 to date - compared to a total of 321 in 2015, 71 in 2014, 46 in 2013, 13 in 2012, and six in 2011. - The CCA is already used frequently to impermissibly restrict the rights to freedom of expression and opinion and to threaten and punish human rights defenders, government critics, and journalists. According to statistics collected by the Thailand-based advocacy group iLaw, between July 2007 and December 2014, of the 277 criminal cases filed under the CCA only 22% involved offenses concerning conventional computer-related crimes, such as infringements on computer systems. By contrast, 78% of the prosecutions related to the dissemination of allegedly offensive material. - The proposed amendments, if adopted, would exacerbate the CCA's existing flaws rather than resolve them. If approved, the proposed amendments to the CCA threaten to further restrict the enjoyment of fundamental human rights and the peaceful activities of a broad range of individuals, institutions, and business enterprises. - We are particularly concerned about the following aspects of the CCA and the amendments currently being considered by the NLA: - 1) - �_Criminal penalties for protected expression by computer users - Proposed amendments to the CCA maintain criminal penalties for violations of the law and fail to rein in unjustified penalties for computer users, including lengthy terms of imprisonment in relation to acts by computer users that would constitute the peaceful exercise of protected freedom of expression under international human rights law and standards. - Article 14(1) of the CCA provides for up to five years' imprisonment or a fine of up to 100,000 Thai Baht (USD 2,800), or both, for uploading "forged" or "false" content "likely to cause damage to a third party of the public." In recent years, the broad and vague language of this provision has been used arbitrarily against journalists, human rights defenders, and other individuals engaged in the important work of informing the public and advocating for human rights protections. Often, penal code charges relating to criminal defamation or insulting the monarchy accompany charges under Article 14(1) of the CCA. Although previous drafts of the amending legislation significantly narrowed the scope of Article 14(1) with the aim of preventing its use in these types of cases, the NLA has recently indicated that it may retain the broader language of the original law. - Laws that criminalize peaceful expression that is protected under the right to freedom of expression, including criminal defamation laws, are inconsistent with Thailand's obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which it is a state party. The UN Human Rights Committee, which monitors state compliance with the ICCPR, has expressed its concern regarding defamation laws that criminalize or are otherwise used to punish a person's exercise of his or her protected right to freedom of expression. It has said that the public interest in a particular subject matter should always be recognized as a defense in any proceedings and also that "at least with regard to comments about public figures, consideration should be given to avoiding penalizing or otherwise rendering unlawful untrue statements that have been published in error but without malice." The Human Rights Committee has emphasized that "imprisonment is never an appropriate penalty" for defamation. - Proposed amendments to Article 14(2) of the CCA would expand its scope to provide for up to five years' imprisonment for anyone found guilty of importing into a computer system "false information which may compromise the maintenance of national security, public security, economic stability, public services,[...] or cause panic in the public." The broadness and vagueness of these terms make this provision susceptible to abuse at the hands of the authorities to repress forms of expression protected under international law. - 2) Service provider liability - Proposed amendments to Article 15 of the CCA maintain criminal liability for "service providers." An individual who is considered a service provider could face of up to five years in prison if he or she "cooperates, consents or acquiesces" in the commission of an offense under Article 14. Given that "service provider" is broadly-defined by the CCA to include network providers, internet service providers, web providers, content providers, and online platforms, virtually all Thailand-based telecommunications and internet-related businesses risk incurring the criminal penalties prescribed by the CCA. So long as the scope of offences under Article 14 remains defined or implemented in an overbroad or vague manner inconsistent with international human rights, service provider liability in relation to the same conduct would itself be inconsistent with human rights standards. - 3) Right to privacy violated - Proposed amendments to the CCA fail to protect against arbitrary invasions of privacy during investigations involving alleged computer crimes. Article 17 of the ICCPR provides that, "No one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence" and that, "Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference." - The CCA allows authorities to collect evidence relating to potential violations of the law using a number of different methods, some of which require judicial authorization. However, Article 18 and 19 of the CCA together also allow investigating officials to summon individuals or to compel service providers to provide traffic data or information about individual computer users without court approval. As a result, authorities would be able to obtain information concerning the online activities of users without judicial authorization. To date, proposed amendments to Articles 18 and 19 have not addressed these shortcomings, which could facilitate the arbitrary and targeted application of the CCA against activists, journalists, government critics, and others. - The UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of expression's 2016 report on the private sector and freedom of expression in the digital age reiterated that "Any demands, requests and other measures to take down digital content or access customer information must be based on validly enacted law, subject to external and independent oversight, and demonstrate a necessary and proportionate means of achieving one or more aims under article 19 (3) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights." - 4) Censorship facilitated - The CCA unjustifiably restricts the right to freedom of expression by facilitating official censorship of online content. - Under proposed amendments to Article 20, authorities would be able to suppress or remove computer content that contravenes the CCA, violates a criminal law provision, or threatens "national security." Judicial authorization is required for actions taken under Article 20, but the broad and vague language of the CCA gives authorities wide latitude to suppress online content. This is of particular concern given recent actions by Thai authorities to punish individuals for the protected exercise of their rights to freedom of expression as well as freedoms of association and peaceful assembly among other rights. Moreover, Article 20 does not provide for the expiration of court authorization after a certain period of time. - The harsh criminal penalties meted out by the CCA promote widespread self-censorship, further suppressing the exercise of the right to freedom of expression. In particular, the extension of criminal liability to internet service providers may lead some to proactively censor online content, further restricting expression by computer users in Thailand. - We therefore ask the National Legislative Assembly to uphold Thailand's obligations under international law by rejecting these proposed amendments, and instead revising the CCA so as to bring it into line with international human rights law, in consultation with civil society and other relevant experts.

The Thailand's National Legislative Assembly (NLA) is currently (October 2016) reviewing proposed amendments to the 2007 Computer-Related Crime Act (CCA). If approved, the new act will further restrict the rights to freedom of expression, opinion, and privacy.

Two land activists summoned by Chum Phae police after posting about the visits to their home by military officials prior to the Constitutional Referendum in August On 17 October 2016, two land activists Mr. Sarayuth Ritthipin, reporter of the E-san Land Reform News and Mr. Chadet Kaewsing, villager of Ban Sam Phak Nam, have been summoned by the Chum Phae Police Station in Khon Kaen dated 3 October 2016, to report themselves on a criminal suit. It turned out that the 2nd Infantry Division, the 8th Infantry Regiment by 1LT Lertchaijrung Witthisan, had alleged that Mr. Sarayuth, alleged offender no.1, and Mr. Chadet, alleged offender no.2, had committed a libel offence and bringing into a computer system false or forged information, partly or as a whole. They were asked to report themselves to the Deputy Superintendent (investigation) of the Chum Phae police station on 25 October 2016 at 13.00. The charges could have stemmed from their posting the information about the incidence in which at least eight officials led by the military had come to meet the villagers on 4 and 5 August, prior to the 7 August Constitutional Referendum in Ban Sam Phak Nam. The news post was headlined "Military raided home asking to meet Phu Pha Man land activists". There has been an increase in prosecutions against human rights defenders based on libel and computer crime charges. From human rights perspective, it is a judicial harassment aiming to incur more burden on the HRDs as they have to seek help from lawyers to defend themselves. It has also created fear among the HRDs and villagers affected by land issues. Previously, authorities had been cooperating well with the local community to manage the land right issue regarding the land in the Phu Pha Man National Park under the collaboration known as "Chom Pah Project". The recently launched Forest Reclamation Policy has reignited a land dispute in Ban Sam Phak Nam. The latest legal action against the two land activists will not help to solve land issues among the destitute villagers but it will unnecessarily make the conflict more complicated and create more burdens for persons involved in the justice process including the police, public prosecutor, and the court.

On 17 October 2016, two land activists, Mr. Sarayuth Ritthipin and Mr. Chadet Kaewsing, were summoned by the Chum Phae police Station in Khon Kaen, Thailand, with libel and computer crime charges after posting about the visits to their home by military officials prior to the Constitutional Referendum in August.

9 February 2016 Judicial harassment of human rights defender Sirikan Charoensiri On 2 February 2016, human rights defender Ms Sirikan Charoensiri received a summons ordering her to report to Chanasongkram Police Station in Bangkok on 9 February 2016. The human rights defender is accused of making a false police report and refusing to comply with an order of a competent official. Authorities ordered her to appear at Chanasongkram Police Station for questioning, in relation to charges brought against her by Mr Suriya Chamnongchok, an investigating officer in the case of the 14 NDM student activists. The human rights defender had been accused of objecting to a search of her car by police officers on the night of 27 June 2015, and filing a false police report accusing the police of malfeasance in office under Article 157 of the Thai Criminal Code. On 27 June 2015, police officers searched the car of Sirikan Charoensiri after presenting her with a court order. During the search, the police seized mobile phones belonging to the 14 NDM student activists, which had been placed in the human rights lawyer's car before the student activists were detained a day earlier. The search came after the human rights defender had tried to lodge a complaint at Samranrat Police Station against Mr Chayapol Chatchaidej, commander of the Sixth Division of Metropolitan Police Bureau, and his subordinates, who had confiscated her car without an official arrest warrant on 26 June 2015. On that date, police officers led by Chayapol Chatchaidej locked one of the wheels of her car where it was parked in front of the Bangkok Military Court, sealed its doors and surrounded it with a metal fence. The incident took place after the human rights defender had refused to allow the police to search her car without an official search warrant. Officers at Samranrat Police Station refused to accept the human rights defender's complaint and threatened her with legal action in response.

On 2 February 2016, human rights lawyer Ms Sirikan Charoensiri received a summons ordering her to report to Chanasongkram Police Station in Bangkok on 9 February 2016. The human rights defender is accused of making a false police report and refusing to comply with an order of a competent official. The summons refers to an episode occurred the night of 27 June 2015, when she objected to a search of her car by police officers on and she filed a police report accusing the police of malfeasance in office.

Thai authorities arrested a group of activists wanted for attempting to demonstrate against the military last month, police said on Thursday, the latest arrest of dissidents in the junta-ruled country. Soldiers detained one student activist from the New Democracy opposition group late on Wednesday. Police arrested a further three members of the group on Thursday. A Bangkok military court later released the students, saying there was no reason to detain them because the punishment for defying a junta ban on protests was negligible. "There was no point to detain them," said Anon Numpa, a lawyer for the activists. They were the latest arrests by the army, which took power in a May 2014 coup and has since curbed basic freedoms and cracked down on critics. The junta, known as the National Council for Peace and Order, has defended the need to curb criticism at a politically sensitive time for the country. Sirawith Seritiwat, a student leader, said he was whisked away from a university campus north of Bangkok on Wednesday. He and the three other activists detained on Thursday are wanted by police for attempting to protest against alleged corruption in an army-built park. In a video taken at a police station, Sirawith said he was blindfolded and dragged through grass by authorities before being kicked and hit. Colonel Winthai Suvaree, a spokesman for the junta, denied authorities mistreated Sirawith. The other three activists were arrested at a police station where they were protesting against Sirawith's abduction. Chonthicha Jangrew, one of the three activists, said in a clip posted on Facebook that the junta was trying to silence those who disagree with it. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said activists must abide by the law. "They have to learn to respect the law instead of claiming democracy and human rights," Prayuth told reporters. Police and soldiers last month temporarily detained dozens of students trying to protest against alleged army corruption involving the multi-million-dollar Rajabhakti Park, built in the seaside resort town of Hua Hin south of Bangkok. A defense ministry team looking into allegations of corruption at the park said last month it had found financial irregularities in the project but had no authority to investigate wrongdoing. The park, a sprawling concrete plaza showcasing seven giant bronze statues of former Thai kings, has been at the center of graft allegations by some Thai media and opposition groups, including irregularities in fundraising events and lack of fiscal transparency.

On 21 January 2016, Thai authorities arrested four activists from New Democracy opposition group wanted for attempting to demonstrate against the military.

(Bangkok, 5 April 2016) - Thailand must immediately revoke National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) Order 13/2016 which confers sweeping powers on the Royal Thai Armed Forces in contravention of human rights and the rule of law, said the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), Human Rights Watch (HRW), Amnesty International (AI), Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), FIDH (International Federation for Human Rights), and Fortify Rights (FR), today. On 29 March 2016, pursuant to Article 44 of the Interim Constitution, General Prayuth Chan-o-cha, Head of the NCPO, issued Order 13/2016 which provides appointed "Prevention and Suppression Officers" and their assistants, drawn from the commissioned ranks of the Armed Forces, including the paramilitary Ranger Volunteers, with wide-ranging powers to prevent and suppress 27 categories of crimes including against public peace, liberty and reputation, immigration, human trafficking, narcotics, and weapons. "The implementation of Order 13/2016 will almost certainly lead to violations of Thailand's international human rights obligations and the rule of law and must be revoked immediately," said Wilder Tayler, Secretary General of the International Commission of Jurists. "We have observed a steady erosion of human rights protections in Thailand since the military coup of 22 May 2014 and this Order signifies another, jarring, movement in the same direction." The Order raises numerous human rights concerns, including: Grants a form of immunity from prosecution to those acting under the Order, leading to impunity contrary to the principle of accountability required by the rule of law. "Instead of paving the way for a return to democratic rule, the Thai junta has broadened its powers to do almost anything it wants, including committing abuses with total impunity," said Brad Adams, Asia Director at Human Rights Watch. "Repression becomes a daily reality as Thailand descends further into military dictatorship." Actions taken under the Order are not subject to judicial review, contrary to the rights to effective remedy, to judicial control of deprivation of liberty, and to a fair trial, as for instance recognized under Articles 2, 9 and 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). "The Order is yet another example of the pernicious removal of powers from the judicial system to review the military's actions, to the detriment of rights protection and the rule of law," said Champa Patel, Interim Director, South East Asia and Pacific Regional Office, Amnesty International. Provides untrained military officials with broadly and ambiguously worded powers of law enforcement likely to lead to abuse, inconsistent with human rights standards including the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials and the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials. "The Order provides law enforcement powers to military officials who do not have law enforcement experience or protocols to summon, search, and arrest persons, said Evelyn Balais-Serrano, the Executive Director of FORUM-ASIA. "This makes the absence of judicial oversight all the more concerning. The fact that this may lead to an abuse of power and the disproportionate use of force by military officials in violation of international laws and standards including the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials and the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials is very worrying. There is a real risk the Order may be used to restrict the legitimate rights of people such as the rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association." Authorizes the deprivation of liberty of persons for up to seven days in unrecognized places of detention, without judicial oversight, which increases the risk of further human rights abuses, including torture and enforced disappearance. "Despite its pretense to suppress criminal activities, this Order is likely to result in the commission of very serious crimes that are prohibited under human rights instruments that Thailand has either signed or ratified," said FIDH President Karim Lahidji. In practice, the Order is open to abuse to repress and silence those perceived as dissenters, including human rights defenders, in violation of international human rights law and standards. "This Order stands to fuel the fire of retaliation against human rights defenders in Thailand," said Amy Smith, Executive Director of Fortify Rights. "Thailand has an obligation to protect human rights defenders, but this Order could easily be used to target and obstruct their legitimate work."

On 29 March 2016, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) adopted Order 13/2016, which confers sweeping powers on the Royal Thai Armed Forces in contravention of human rights and the rule of law. The new order has raised numerous human rights concerns.

Joshua Wong, the student activist who became a global symbol of the fight for democracy in Hong Kong, has reportedly been detained in Thailand following a request from China and will shortly be flown back to Hong Kong. Wong's political party Demosist? posted on Facebook that he had travelled to Bangkok after being invited to speak at the city's Chulalongkorn University about his campaign for democracy. However Netiwit Chotipatpaisal, the Thai student-activist who was due to meet Wong in Bangkok, notified the party that Wong has been detained at Suvarnabhumi airport. "According to Chotipatpaisal, the Thai authorities have received a letter from the Chinese government earlier regarding Wong's visit. His request to see Wong, who is still currently in custody, has also been declined," the Demosist? post said. "Demosist? strongly condemns the Thai government for unreasonably limiting Wong's freedom and right to entry, and requests the immediate release of Wong. "In the meantime, we request the Hong Kong immigration department's assistance in assuring Wong's safety." The Guardian understands that Wong will return to Hong Kong on Wednesday. One source with knowledge of the trip said he was currently being held in custody at the airport. Immigration officials at Suvarnabhumi Airport confirmed to Reuters that Wong was prevented from entering Thailand and would be sent back to Hong Kong. Prominent members of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement accused Beijing of being behind Wong's deportation. Agnes Chow, the deputy secretary general of Demosist?, said: "We believe that the Chinese government is using all ways to stop us spreading democratic ideas from Hong Kong to other countries. But bigger suppression makes a stronger fight. "We just hope that Joshua is safe," the 19-year-old activist added. "We will not give up the fight for democracy and the fight against the Chinese government which disrespects human rights." Nathan Law, Demosist?'s president, told Hong Kong radio he believed there was "some connection" between Wong's detention and Beijing. Wong, 19, was due to address students at Chulalongkorn University at an event to mark the 40th anniversary of a massacre of pro-democracy students by security forces and royalist militias in 1976. The Thammasat massacre of 6 October 6 1976, remains a deeply sensitive issue in Thailand's turbulent recent history, and was the prelude to a military coup. He was expected to talk about his experiences during the 79-day umbrella movement protests in Hong Kong in 2014. Jason Ng, a Hong Kong-based writer who knows Wong, said that before leaving Hong Kong the student activist had voiced concerns that he might not be allowed to enter Thailand. The suspected abduction of Hong Kong bookseller Gui Minhai last year by Chinese agents had also left Wong nervous about potential risks to his well-being. "He was... most concerned about his personal safety, being abducted or attacked. Being turned back is one thing, getting hurt or disappearing is another," said Ng, the author of a book on Hong Kong's umbrella movement protests. To guard against such threats, ahead of Wong's trip to Thailand supporters set up an encrypted group on the messaging service WhatsApp through which the activist could notify Bangkok-based academics and journalists of any problems. Wong's detention appeared to be the latest example of the closer ties between Thailand's military regime and China's Communist rulers, who consider the student activist a subversive. Since the 2014 coup in Thailand, a series of incidents have underlined Beijing's influence in the south-east Asian country. In October last year a Hong Kong publisher who specialised in salacious books about the Communist party elite vanished from his seafront apartment in the Thai resort town Pattaya, only to reappear in custody in mainland China where he is now being held. At around the same time, a Chinese journalist and campaigner called Li Xin fled China, hoping to claim political asylum in Thailand. However, he disappeared while traveling from Thailand to Laos. "I warned him to be very careful in Thailand. It is very dangerous here," one Chinese exile living in Bangkok said at the time. A number of other Chinese dissidents and members of the Uighur ethnic minority from western China have also been deported back to China at the request of its government. Netiwit, who said he waited at the airport until 3am after Wong's Emirates Airline flight landed at 11:45pm, said his treatment amounted to "censorship". "Actually Joshua Wong was just in Taipei, Taiwan, and he was able to travel there and stayed there for two-to-three days," he told the Khaosod news website. "Thailand should stay out of the Chinese sphere of power, but we're not able to do this." Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch, said: "Thailand's arrest of Joshua Wong, a well-known pro-democracy activist in Hong Kong, sadly suggests that Bangkok is willing to do Beijing's bidding. Wong should be freed immediately and allowed to travel and exercise his right to free expression."

On 5 October 2016, Joshua Wong, the student activist who became a global symbol of the fight for democracy in Hong Kong, has reportedly been detained in Bangkok, Thailand, following a request from China. Immigration officials at Suvarnabhumi Airport confirmed that Wong was prevented from entering Thailand, and that he will shortly be flown back to Hong Kong. He was supposed to speak at the city's Chulalongkorn University about his campaign for democracy, in occasion of the 40th anniversary of a massacre of pro-democracy students by security forces and royalist militias in 1976.

The police have accused an embattled human rights lawyer of sedition and violation of the junta's political gathering ban, for observing a pro-democracy protest. Police from Samranrat Police Station issued a summon order for Sirikan Charoensiri, a lawyer from the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR), to report to the station on 27 September 2016, the TLHR reported. Sirikan was only informed about the summon on 26 September, right after returning from a trip to Switzerland. She had travelled to Geneva on 17 September to speak at the 33rd general meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council. The police permitted Sirikan to postpone reporting. According to the summon letter, the TLHR lawyer is accused of violating Article 116 of the Criminal Code, the sedition law; and the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) Head's Order No. 3/2015, the junta's ban on political gatherings of five or more persons. She is accused of such charges for observing a pro-democracy gathering at Victory Monument, Bangkok, on 25 June 2015. The gathering was organised by the New Democracy Movement (NDM) activist group. The police also accused Rangsiman Rome and other key members of the NDM of the same charges. Earlier in May, the police police investigators pressed charges against Sirikan under Articles 142 and 368 of the Criminal Code for propagating false accusations against investigating officers and for disobeying police orders. Sirikan was accused of objecting to a search of her car by police officers on the night of 27 June 2015 in front of the Military Court of Bangkok, after 14 activists were arrested and taken to the Court. The police wanted to confiscate the mobile phones of some of the activists which were in Sirikan's car but she refused, claiming that the police did not have with them a warrant to search her car. The next day, she went to Samranrat Police Station at around 1pm to file a complaint against the police under Article 157 of the Thai Criminal Code - malfeasance in office - pointing out that officers unlawfully confiscated her car for the search. After listening to the charges, Sirikan then submitted a letter to the prosecutor, saying that police officers attempted to search her car without a search warrant and that she was merely protecting her clients.

On 27 September 2016, Sirikan Charoensiri, a TLHR lawyer, was order to report to the Samranrat Police Station. Sirikan was only informed about the summon on 26 September, right after returning from a trip to Switzerland, consequently the police permitted to postpone reporting. According to the summon letter, the TLHR lawyer is accused of violating Article 116 of the Criminal Code, the sedition law; and the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) Head's Order No. 3/2015, the junta's ban on political gatherings of five or more persons, for observing a pro-democracy gathering at Victory Monument, Bangkok, on 25 June 2015.

Amnesty International has cancelled the public launch of a report on torture in Thailand after police in Bangkok warned the rights group that its representatives might be arrested and prosecuted for visa violations. The report accuses Thai soldiers and police of torture, including of suspected insurgents, government opponents, alleged drug users, and minorities. The London-based advocacy group had flown in members of its UK team for the event, which was to be held at a hotel in central Bangkok and attended by diplomats, journalists and local human rights activists. Members of Thailand's police special branch and the department of employment had also turned up. Amnesty said it had been in close contact with the government in the weeks before the launch but it was informed on Wednesday that its foreign staff - the authors of the report - had the wrong visas. An hour after the press conference was due to start, Nadthasiri Bergman, a Thai legal adviser to Amnesty, said the authorities "insist that they are not closing the event down, but they qualify that if representatives of Amnesty International speak there will be consequences and they will subject to arrest and prosecuted under Thai labour law". Despite the alleged threats, Yuval Gimbar, who researched the report, spoke to media in the hotel lobby by the lifts, 20 metres from where the event was due to be held. "We know that the Thai government does not accept criticism very well," he said. "[But] In the 21st century you can't really shut people up. You can try. I think what they did probably gave us more voice then if they had let us exercise peacefully our human right to freedom of expression." The report, titled "Make Him Speak by Tomorrow": Torture and Other Ill-Treatment in Thailand, documents 74 alleged cases of torture and other ill-treatment including beatings, strangling by hand or rope, waterboarding and forms of humiliation. Amnesty accuses the ruling junta of allowing a culture of torture to flourish across the country since a coup in 2014. The government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report or event cancellation. The report quoted several people, including one man who said the army held him at an undisclosed location for seven days, the period that the military is allowed to detain people under new laws. "They put a plastic bag on my head until I fainted, and then poured a bucket of cold water on me," he was quoted as saying. "They applied electro-shock to my penis and chest. I was restrained, my legs tied, and my face covered with tape and a plastic bag." Thailand is preparing a draft law that would criminalise torture and enforced disappearance. Laurent Meillan, acting regional representative of the UN human rights office in south-east Asia, said he regretted the decision to prevent the public launch, which he said raised serious questions. "This incident is another striking illustration of a new pattern of harassment of human rights defenders documenting torture in Thailand," he said.

On 28 September 2016, Amnesty International has cancelled the public launch of a report on torture in Thailand after police in Bangkok warned the rights group that its foreigner representatives might be arrested and prosecuted for visa violations.

Local officials in the restive Deep South of Thailand have banned civil society groups from hosting an event celebrating World Peace Day, despite having previously granted permission for the event. On 21 September 2016, local administrative officials in the Deep South province of Pattani prohibited civil society workers from hosting an event celebrating World Peace Day at Krue Se Mosque, reported Thai PBS. Krue Se Mosque was the scene of a bloody confrontation between Muslim insurgents and the Thai military in 2004. According to Thai PBS, about 500 people gathered at the mosque to participate in a seminar titled "Peace in the Deep South + Peace in Pattani = Peace for Thailand and Peace for the World". The event was hosted by the Network of Civil Society in Southern Thailand. However, at around noon, local officials from Tanyong Lulo Subdistrict Administrative Organization (SAO) visited the event and told organisers to halt activities. Arifuen So, President of the Federation of Pattani Student and Youth (PERMAS) and one of the event's organisers, said that he had been already granted permission from the SAO to host the event. Despite this, officials told him on 20 September to cancel it. "Yesterday (20 September), a local official summoned me and said that he didn't want this event to be hosted. The Deep South is currently in the process of peace-building but when people want to host public forums, authorities see them as threats to national security," said Arifuen. The event organisers then decided to read statements, before dissolving the gathering. But when Tuwaedaniya Tuwaemaengae, President of the local NGO LEMPAR, read a statement condemning the authorities' order to dissolve the event, a local official interrupted and told him to end the event immediately. "Real peace is peace with honour that connects to the people. If the state feels suspicious of the people, peace is just an illusion," Tuwaedaniya read.

On 21 September 2016, local administrative officials in the Deep South province of Pattani, Thailand, prohibited civil society workers from hosting an event celebrating World Peace Day at Krue Se Mosque, despite having previously granted permission for the event.

The court has sentenced a bookseller to two years in jail for selling a banned book on the killing of King Ananda, a former king and older brother of the current King. The Southern Bangkok Criminal Court on 15 September 2016 read the Supreme Court's verdict on the l��se majest_ case of a 67-year-old man referred to as Defendant U. The defendant, who requested his full name be withheld, was accused of violating Article 112 of the Criminal Code - the l��se majest_ law - for selling the book "The Devil's Discus' at a pro-establishment yellow shirt rally in May 2006. The book, written by the English-South African author Rayne Kruger and published in 1964, was declared illegal by Thai authorities in 2006. It was translated into Thai by Chalit Chaisithiwet and a Thai version was published in 1974. According to Wikipedia, as soon as the book was published, it was banned in Thailand. Kruger was also banned from further entry to Thailand. The Supreme Court confirmed an earlier ruling by the Appeal Court by sentencing Defendant U to three years imprisonment. However, the jail term was reduced by one third to two years because the testimony of the defendant was viewed as beneficial to the case. According to the accusation, six sections in the book constituted l��se majest_. The six sections present the author's theories about the cause of the former King's death, theories which involve the current King. The author concludes that the former King was likely to have committed suicide because his relationship with a foreign woman was unacceptable. In passing the verdict, the Supreme Court reasoned that since Defendant U is an experienced book seller, he should have known that the content constituted l��se majest_. The court thus viewed as unsound the defendant's' claim that he did not have knowledge of the book's content. The defendant was also caught selling another banned book involving the monarchy, the court added. When he was arrested, the police confiscated a copy of Same Sky journal, the "Monarchy and Thai Society" issue of Oct-Dec 2005 (the Coca Cola issue), in addition to a copy of "The Devil's Discus'. The two books are banned under the now-abolished Printing Act. The Public Prosecutor only pressed charges for selling "The Devil's Discus'. The court of first instance had ruled earlier that the book had content defaming the King, and that the writer, Kruger, intended to insult the King. The court, however, acquitted Defendant U because the prosecutors failed to prove that the defendant knew the book contained l��se majest_ content.

On 15 September 2016, the Supreme Court upheld the two year prison sentence against Udomsak Wattanaworachaiwathin, in Bangkok, Thailand. In May 2006, Udomsak Wattanaworachaiwathin was charged for selling a book claimed to be banned in Thailand, which discusses circumstances surrounding the death of the King Ananda. In late April 2015, the Appeals Court overturned an earlier acquittal and sentenced him to 3 years in jail, reduced to 2 years for "useful testimony."

Human rights defenders and students activists have been summoned for allegedly conspiring with an anti-junta activist, who is currently on a hunger strike, to host a seminar criticising the junta-sponsored draft constitution. The human rights defenders insist they merely monitored the seminar. On Thursday, 18 August, Thai Lawyer for Human Rights (TLHR) revealed that the police in the northeastern province of Khon Kaen have issued a summons for six people to hear accusations that they violated an order of the junta's National Council for Peace and Order. The six include two TLHR staff and Jatuphat Boonpattaraksa aka "Phai', a pro-democracy activist who has been staging a hunger strike in jail since 6 August. The summons states that the six must report in on 18 August. The accusation is related to a public discussion on the junta-sponsored draft charter held on 31 July at Khon Kaen University. The six were accused of organizing the seminar. The two summoned TLHR staff are Duangthip Khanrit and Niranut Niamsap. The rest are two student activists from Khon Kaen University (Chatmongkhon Chanchiawchan and Narongrit Uppachan) and a local activist (Natthapon Athan). The police has agreed to postpone the date of the summons to 31 August because Jatuphat is currently in jail and the other five only learned about the summons on 18 August. According to TLHR, Natthapon, Duangthip and Niranut merely monitored the 31 July seminar and have no involvement with the organization team. As for the two TLHR staff, the TLHR stated that they clearly identified themselves with name tags while observing the activities, and identified themselves as observers with the authorities who were in charge of keeping law and order at the venue. The TLHR condemned the summons as an obvious intimidation against human rights defenders. Jatuphat Boonpattaraksa, better known as Phai Dao Din, is an activist from Doa Din, the group of student activists based in Khon Kaen. Apart from campaigns against dictatorship which the group has incessantly held since the coup in May 2014, Dao Din is renown for its works on community rights and environmental issues. Jatuphat was arrested on 6 August for distributing flyers campaigning for "Vote No' in the draft charter referendum. He started a hunger strike on the same day he was arrested.

On 18 August 2016, a total of six human rights defenders and students activists have been summoned after participating to a public discussion on the junta-sponsored draft charter held on 31 July at Khon Kaen University. The six are accused of organizing the seminar, while the HRDs stated that they just monitored the event.

Duayjai/CrCF/HAP Press Release Demanding transparent investigation, respect of human rights and immediate release: The arrest of women author and husband in the Southern Border Province On 15 August 2016, the Cross Cultural Foundation (CrCF) was informed that on 14 August, Ms. Mussiha Masae and her husband had been arrested at Taloe Kapor Beach while participating in the first "Muslimahs Love the Koran" event. Later the authorities have conducted a search at their house and collected some items from there. Both are being placed in custody at the Ingkhayuthboraihan Military Camp, Pattani. In detail, the arrest took place on 14 August 2016 at 11.00am, as the combined forces of the military, the police and administrative officials plus the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) have charged and held in custody the couple who are both authors. The husband, Mr. Ibroheng Arong, aka "Burong" and Ms. Musliha Masae, also known in facebook as "Jae Nurihan Malaysia" and "Down to Earth Angel", were arrested at Taloe Kapor Beach and then taken to Taskforce 42, before being placed in custody at the Ingkhayuthboraihan Military Camp. On 13 August, prior to the arrest, military officials from Taskforce 38, Narathiwat, had gone to meet them at home, but could not find them there since they were in Pattani. The officials had, instead, taken into custody, the Deputy Village Headman. His relatives have contacted for help and asked the couple to report themselves in to the authorities to prove their innocence. But before, they could do so, they were arrested invoking Martial Law at Taloe Kapor Beach. Ms. Musliha Masae, also known in facebook as "Jae Nurihan Malaysia", is a prolific writer and popular among the Muslim readers for her love stories. The novels are more akin to an older sister advising the younger ones. She is able to write to touch deeply the heart of teenagers and women audience by picking up the teaching of the Koran and spreading it among the Muslim women. By all means not a religious scholar, she is simply a merchant selling chicken in Tan Yong Mat market, Rangae District, Natathiwat. A self-taught person, she has persevered to acquire more knowledge and become quite a successful and prolific writer[1]. According to the security forces, they have revealed the arrest had been made at the request of DSI since some of her posts in social media were deemed to be related to the violent incidents, though they could not reveal now which posts are illegal. The DSI has asked for cooperation and invoked Martial Law to conduct the arrest. On 16 August 2016, the military have allowed human rights activists to visit the two authors and have promised to expedite the process of interrogation as quick as possible and as provided for by the law. The undersigning organizations and individuals have found the operation of the DSI has not been carried out according to the procedure of the law. DIS is, however, obliged to carry out their duties in this special case in a transparent manner. But the legal action invoking Martial Law by DSI this time is arbitrary and could not considered as criminal justice process. It is pertinently important that a criminal investigation that attracts public attention be carried out transparently and based on respect of human rights. The arbitrary use of power may compromise the credibility and admissibility of the evidence obtained. We also call on to the security forces to release Ms. Musliha Masae and her husband immediately and unconditionally. Otherwise, they must be provided with access to lawyer they trust should the authorities persist to press them with a criminal charge.

On 14 August 2016, Ms. Mussiha Masae and her husband Mr. Ibroheng Arong were arrested at Taloe Kapor Beach, on the Southern Thai Province of Pattani, and then placed in custody at the Ingkhayuthboraihan Military Camp. Clear charges haven't been presented yet, but the security forces have revealed that the arrest has been made at the request of DSI because of some of her posts in social media.

The Thai military should immediately withdraw its criminal complaints against three human rights defenders for reporting alleged torture by government security forces in southern Thailand, Human Rights Watch said today. The military's actions pose a serious threat to all human rights monitoring and reporting in Thailand at a time when rights abuses are widespread in the country, Human Rights Watch said. "The Thai military is targeting human rights activists for reporting grave abuses and standing up for victims," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "The government should order these criminal complaints withdrawn and do what it should have done in the first place: seriously investigate the report's allegations of torture." It was recently reported that on May 17, 2016, the military's Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) Region 4 - which covers national security operations in the provinces along the southern border - filed a criminal complaint in Yala against prominent human rights activists Somchai Homlaor, Pornpen Khongkachonkie, and Anchana Heemmina. The complaint accuses the three of criminal defamation under the Penal Code and publicizing false information online under the Computer Crimes Act. The complaint makes reference to the February report by the Cross Cultural Foundation, Duay Jai Group, and the Patani Human Rights Network that documents 54 cases in which Thai security personnel allegedly tortured and otherwise ill-treated ethnic Malay Muslim insurgent suspects between 2004 and 2015. If charged and convicted, the activists face up to five years in prison or a 100,000 baht (US$2,850) fine. Thai authorities have an obligation to ensure that all people and organizations engaged in the protection and promotion of human rights are able to work in a safe and enabling environment, Human Rights Watch said. The right to file complaints about torture and mistreatment and to have the complaint promptly and impartially investigated is ensured under international treaties to which Thailand is party, including the Convention against Torture and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In addition, the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders affirms the prohibition against retaliation, threats, and harassment of anyone who takes peaceful action against human rights violations, both within and beyond the exercise of their professional duties. The Thai military has a longstanding practice of dismissing allegations of torture and other serious abuses committed by security personnel in the southern border provinces, Human Rights Watch said. Thai authorities have also frequently retaliated against reporting of alleged rights abuses by filing lawsuits accusing critics of making false statements with the intent of damaging their reputation. The military's attempted use of a criminal complaint to retaliate against human rights defenders is contrary to Prime Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-ocha's recent promise to criminalize torture and fulfill Thailand's international obligations against the practice, Human Rights Watch said. Torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment are prohibited under international treaties and customary international law. The Convention against Torture, which Thailand ratified in 2007, obligates governments to investigate and prosecute acts of torture and other ill-treatment committed by government officials. However, the Thai government has yet to prosecute successfully any security personnel for abuses against ethnic Malay Muslims alleged to be involved in the insurgency. In June 2014, the UN Committee Against Torture recommended Thailand "should take all the necessary measures to: (a) put an immediate halt to harassment and attacks against human rights defenders, journalists, and community leaders; and (b) systematically investigate all reported instances of intimidation, harassment and attacks with a view to prosecuting and punishing perpetrators, and guarantee effective remedies to victims and their families." Separatist insurgents in southern Thailand called the Patani Freedom Fighters (Pejuang Kemerdekaan Patani,) part of the loose network of BRN-Coordinate (Barisan Revolusi Nasional, or National Revolution Front-Coordinate), continue to maintain a presence in hundreds of villages despite significant setbacks in recent years. The insurgents use state-sponsored abuses and heavy-handed counterinsurgency tactics to recruit new members and justify their campaign of violence and terror, which has claimed more than 6,000 lives since fighting erupted in January 2004. "Atrocities by separatist insurgents provide no justification for abuses by Thai security forces," Adams said. "Covering up torture and other crimes by targeting human rights activists only undermines efforts to improve the security situation in the deep south."

On 17 May 2016, three HRDs, Somchai Homla-or, Anchana Heemmina, and Porpen Khongkaconkiet, have been charged for exposing torture by Thai security forces in the south of Thailand provinces. (On 7 March 2017, the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc) has agreed to drop all defamation charges against three HRDs after the two sides agreed to work together to prove 54 cases of alleged torture and human rights violations among security suspects in Isoc's custody.)

KHON KAEN - An activist imprisoned for handing out leaflets on the eve of the charter referendum remained on a hunger strike Wednesday to protest his arrest and a raid of his family home by police. Jatupat "Pai" Boonpattararaksa was campaigning against the charter draft at a market in Chaiyaphum province when he was arrested Saturday and charged with violating the referendum law. The 25-year-old activist has refused to post bail, insisting the authorities should free him because his actions were lawful. Boycott Camp Rejects Results of "Fake' Referendum "The kid had no intent to break the law," Jatupat's father, Wiboon Boonpattararaksa, said by telephone Tuesday. "He didn't secretly hand out those flyers. He didn't have any intent to cause unrest. His actions lacked criminal intent. If they did, he would have done it somewhere far from the eyes of police." Get Khaosod English by email. Binge-read when you want. Jatupat, a member of the northeastern Dao Din community rights group, immediately began a hunger strike since being imprisoned Sunday in Khon Kaen province. Wiboon said it was to protest a raid by police of his family home shortly after his arrest. Wasin Prommanee, a fellow activist arrested along with Jatupat, has already been released on bail. Wiboon, a lawyer, is representing his son in court. "He's very angry about that. He didn't care much that police arrested him, but the fact that officers from an entire police station raided his home where his family lived? He's angry, he wants to know why they had to do that," Wiboon said. Although the referendum ended Sunday with a victory for the junta, critics of the draft charter still face prosecution under a draconian law that banned any campaigning that "misled" the public into voting in favor or against the charter draft. Jatupat and others charged under the law face up to 10 years in jail. The junta has already ruled out amnesty for the dissidents, but an anti-junta activist and friend of Jatupat said they wouldn't accept it. "We aren't hoping for amnesty anyway, because if we accept it, it would mean we admit that we did something wrong, and they gave us pardons," said Chonticha Jaeng-rew, a member of the Bangkok-based New Democracy Movement, who visited him Monday. "We assert our right to exercise free expression." Chonticha said she's worried for Jatupat, who looked exhausted and sickly when she saw him, but remains in good spirits. "Right now we are trying to set queues for his family and friends to visit him," Chonticha said. "We want to help him first before we engage in any activism. Right now we're trying to spread the news of his imprisonment and contact international organizations." Wiboon said he respects his son's decision not to seek bail, and played down concerns about Jatupat's health. "He once spent three months in the monkhood. He knows how to discipline his consciousness. When he was a monk, he only ate one meal per day anyway," Wiboon said. "He is not in any life-threatening condition. His morale is high. He's a strong man."

On 6 August 2016, one day before Thailand's Constitutional Referendum, two young activists of the New Democracy Movement (NDM), Mr. Jatupat Boonpattararaksa, and Mr. Wasin Prommanee, were arrested in Chaiyaphum province, northeastern Thailand, for allegedly distributing leaflets and document in campaign to reject the draft constitution at a local market. Mr. Wasin was granted bail by the Court on 8 August, but Mr. Jatupat did not request a temporary release to insist on his innocence: he is being held in a prison and has been on hunger strike.