Freedom of expression , human rights lawyer, being dragged by officers upon his first arrest in a series of
peaceful protests in 2020. Critics charge that the Thai criminal code's
defamation provisions are
de facto threats to free speech. Both the civil and commercial codes have provisions to deal with defamation, but plaintiffs often prefer to file criminal cases against activists or the press. Criminal charges, which can result in arrest, seizure of the accused's
passport if they are a foreigner, and court proceedings that may last for years, do not require the participation of police or government prosecutors but can be filed directly with a court by the accuser; courts rarely reject these cases. Slander carries a maximum sentence of one year's imprisonment and/or a fine of up to 20,000 baht, while libel is punishable by up to two years in jail and/or a fine of up to 200,000 baht.
Freedom of the press The
Southeast Asian Press Alliance noted that
freedom of speech in Thailand's
domestic media environment—prior to the
2006 coup considered one of the freest and most vibrant in Asia—had quickly deteriorated following the military ousting of
Thaksin Shinawatra. It noted the closure of community radio stations in Thai provinces, the intermittent blocking of cable news channels, and the suspension of some Thai websites devoted to discussing the implications of military intervention in Thai democracy. SEAPA also noted that while there seemed to be no crackdown on journalists, and while foreign and local reporters seemed free to roam, interview, and report on the coup as they saw fit, self-censorship was a certain issue in Thai newsrooms. In 2018, British journalist
Suzanne Buchanan reported on a series of tourist deaths and sexual assaults on
Ko Tao. Though she has not been to Thailand in years, she is wanted by police who say she is peddling fake news. In 2022 she published a book on the subject called The Curse of the Turtle "The True Story of Thailand's Backpacker Murders" published by Wild Blue Press. In December 2019 a Thai reporter was sentenced to two years in prison for a comment she made about workers' grievances filed against a Thammakaset Company poultry farm. She sent a tweet in 2016 in response to a ruling that the company pay 14 migrant workers 1.7 million
baht in compensation and damages for having to work 20 hours a day without a break for 40 consecutive days at a wage less than the legal minimum. In her description of the ruling, she used the term "slave labour" to describe the workers' employment. Thammakaset sued her and the workers for criminal defamation, but lost the case against the workers. The court ruled that her choice of words misrepresented the facts and damaged the firm's reputation. In October 2020, Human Rights Watch wrote a letter demanding the end of harassment of Thai journalist Suchanee Cloitre. The joint letter was also signed by twelve other human rights organizations, calling on the Thai government to protect journalists and human rights defenders from insignificant criminal proceedings. In October 2020, Thailand's Ministry of Digital Economy and Society announced an emergency decree to censor blunt
Voice TV on all online media channels. The ministry alleged the station of violating media restrictions under the Emergency Decree on Public Administration in Emergency Situations and the Computer-Related Crime Act, over their coverage of
pro-democracy protests in Thailand. In November 2021, the
NBTC office led by Lt Gen Peerapong Monakit, an NBTC commissioner, gave a warning to TV operators and concessionaires to reconsider carefully or even refrain from presenting content on some monarchy-related issues from the
2020–2021 Thai protests, in particular the 10-point monarchy reform manifestos. Media outlets viewed the move as a threat, while academics may be reluctant to express opinions on the
monarchy for fear of being punished. Analysts said such self-censorship could put all public debate down. .
Same Sky Books owner and chief editor,
Thanapol Eawsakul was arrested by
Technology Crime Suppression Division police on 29 June 2022 for keeping a top secret document. Thanapol had been harassed by
Royal Thai Police officers several times since he founded a company that printed critical political books related to the
Monarchy of Thailand.
Lèse-majesté Lèse-majesté law in Thailand is a crime according to Section 112 of the Thai Criminal Code. It is illegal to
defame,
insult, or threaten the king, queen, heir-apparent, heir-presumptive, or
regent. Modern Thai lèse-majesté law has been on the statute books since 1908. Thailand is the only
constitutional monarchy to have strengthened its lèse-majesté law since World War II. With penalties ranging from three to fifteen years imprisonment for each
count, it has been described as the "world's harshest lèse majesté law" and "possibly the strictest criminal-defamation law anywhere".
Anchan P. was handed 87-year prison sentence for uploading and sharing videos on the internet of an online talk show, after she had been detained in jail for nearly 4 years from 2015, then in 2021, the court convicted her by half to 43 and a half years due to her guilty plea. The
UN Human Rights Committee has declared that "imprisonment is never an appropriate penalty" for lèse majesté case. On 21 May 2022, the
Human Rights Watch reported that a pro-democracy activist, Tantawan "Tawan" Tuatulanon, has been detained and unjustly charged for her peaceful protests. Tawan has advocated reforming the monarchy and abolishing draconian lese majeste. She also started a hunger strike on 20 April 2022, to protest her pre-trial detention. In 2023, Tawan and a fellow prisoner Orawan "Bam" Phupong have been taking part of a hunger strike to protest their imprisonment under the Lese-majeste laws. Both are in weak conditions and have reportedly experienced chest pains and nosebleeds.
Law enforcement abuse on people In November 2021, Yan Marchal, an 18-years French
expatriate in Thailand, was
deported to his homeland after he had been mocking the
Prayut Chan-o-cha's
Thai junta and so on the military dominated
government in
TikTok. He was stopped by immigration officials in
Phuket, after he just arrived from
France to
Thailand. The reason by the official was Marchal behaviour indicated that he was a possible danger to the public. On 1 December 2021, the 28-year-old noodle vendor made a headline news, asked Prime Minister
Prayut Chan-o-cha to retire quickly to allow others to perform the duties and voiced that Thailand needs a lot of development, while he was welcomed by people in
Ban Dung District in
Udon Thani. Later Ban Dung police came to her house, asking to see her so that they could keep a record of her, but she declined to meet them, saying she had done nothing wrong. The police denied it later.
Assaults on activists Between 2018 and 2019, there had been 11 physical assaults on political activists in Thailand. Police investigations of the assaults have shown no progress. Regime critic Ekachai Hongkangwarn has been assaulted seven times since 2017. Attacks have targeted his property and his person. The latest assault took place in May 2019, when he was beaten by four attackers in front of a court building. Authorities appear powerless to stop the attacks. One culprit was arrested in 2018, paid a fine, and was released. On 28 June 2019, anti-junta activist Sirawith "Ja New" Seritiwat was attacked by four assailants wielding baseball bats on a busy Bangkok thoroughfare. Earlier in June, Sirawith was attacked by five men when traveling home from a political event. In the case of the latest attack, the deputy prime minister broke the government's silence on political attacks and ordered the police to act swiftly to find the attackers.
Forced disappearances According to
Amnesty Thailand, at least 59 human-rights defenders have been victims of
forced disappearance since 1998. The government of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha continues to refuse to criminalize torture and enforced disappearances. Human rights advocates across Asia fear that Southeast Asian countries, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Laos, have jointly agreed to cooperate to ensnare political activists who have fled their own borders and send them back to their home nations without due process to face torture and possible death. The
Bangkok Post has noted that disappearances began to happen after the Thai and Lao governments agreed in December 2017 to cooperate in tracking down persons deemed "security threats". Among those who disappeared: •
Haji Sulong, a reformist and a separatist who disappeared in 1954. He sought for greater recognition of the
Jawi community in
Patani. •
Tanong Po-arn,
Thai labour union leader who disappeared following the
1991 Thai coup d'état by
National Peace Keeping Council against the elected government. •
Somchai Neelapaijit, human rights attorney who championed the rights of Thai-Malay Muslims in the deep south. He was abducted and killed in 2004 during the
Thaksin Shinawatra administration. His body was never found and no one has been punished. •
Porlajee "Billy" Rakchongcharoen, Karen-ethnic activist • On 22 June 2016, an anti-monarchist in Laos, Ittipon Sukpaen, a 28-year-old pro-democracy broadcaster known as DJ Zunho, was snatched by unknown assailants and pulled into the woods. He was never seen again. •
Wuthipong Kachathamakul, also known as Ko Tee, red shirt activist, disappeared in July 2017. Surachai's family, a year after his disappearance, is still being held liable for 450,000 baht in bail bond fees by the Thai courts system. , the Thai police still consider Surachai a "missing person". They have failed to make progress on the case and the Thai government "...seems to have ignored these cases,..." Their disappearance prompted an "alert statement" from the
Thai Alliance for Human Rights. Their disappearance passed the one-year mark on 8 May 2020 with still no sign of the trio. •
Od Sayavong, a Lao refugee and critic of the Laotian government, disappeared from his Bangkok home on 26 August 2019 and has not been seen since. The Cambodians relented on 9 June, saying they would investigate while denying any responsibility. The case has galvanized numerous groups into action on Wanchalearm's behalf. According to the legal assistance group, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, at least 86 Thais left Thailand seeking asylum abroad following the military takeover in May 2014. Among them are the five members of the Thai band
Faiyen. Their music is their crime, as some of their songs mock the monarchy, a serious offense in Thailand. The band, whose name means 'cool fire', announced on social media that its members feared for their lives after "many trusted people told us that the Thai military will come to kill us." In August 2019 Fai Yen band members were admitted to France to seek refugee status. All of those who disappeared in late 2018 and early 2019 were accused by Thai authorities of anti-monarchical activity.
Arbitrary arrest and detention Since the beginning of 2021, prominent human rights defenders and democracy activists were charged with the possibility of more than 100 years each on criminal charges for their involvement in pro-democracy activism. The leading figures of the
2020–2021 Thai protests that called for reforms to the monarchy,
Arnon Nampa,
Panupong Jadnok,
Parit Chiwarak,
Jatupat (Pai Dao Din),
Panusaya (Rung), and
Benja Apan, were all detained awaiting trial in 2021 in a series of
detainments and releases. Some were imprisoned accumulatively for more than 200 days after Prime Minister
Prayut Chan-o-cha issued a declaration in November 2020 to charge protesters with offenses under all laws, including
lèse-majesté. In 2022, there were multiple cases of systematic harassment and detention against young monarchy-reform activists, such as that of
Tantawan Tuatulanon, who protested her imprisonment by going on a
hunger strike for 37 days. Most activists who mentioned the monarchy were also forced to wear
electronic monitoring anklets by the criminal court. More than 15
dissidents are still imprisoned to this day.
Political abuse of psychiatry On 9 July 2020,
Tiwagorn Withiton, Thai political and human rights activist, was forcedly carried out by a group of 6 officers and taken to hospital. In a car, the officers tied his hands with a cloth and inject him with unknown medication. The police searched his house and took his computer and smartphone, and made his mother sign a consent of bringing him to be admitted to Rajanagarindra Psychiatric Hospital in Khon Kaen. Hospital director, Nattakorn Champathong, explained that Tiwagorn had not been forced to enter the hospital. Khon Kaen's police chief, Major General Puttipong Musikul explained that he was getting treatment because his relatives had him admitted.
Freedom of association In the wake of the
2006 and
2014 ''coup d'états'', the right to free speech, association, and freedom of movement were seriously eroded. Military governments have implemented bans on political meetings and prohibited media criticism. Political activities of all types were prohibited.
Elections, political parties, and representation Regarding
2019 Thai general election, the
military junta government failed to make terms for a free and fair national election, according to the
Human Rights Watch. The procedure for forming a new government, 250 military-appointed
Senates have half the total number of votes for the government as the elected
House of Representatives, severely undermines the right of Thai citizens to choose their leaders. Moreover, the electoral process problems consisted of repressive laws restricting freedom of speech, association, and assembly, media censorship, lack of equal access to the media, and lack of independence and impartiality of the national election commission, leading to the dissolution of a major opposition
Thai Raksa Chart Party, in which
King Vajiralongkorn prohibited
Ubol Ratana from entering politics. HRW also stated that the junta disregarded Article 25 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). On 20 November 2019, the court convicted
Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, disqualifying his MP status. On 21 February 2020,
Future Forward Party was dissolved by the
Constitutional Court. Amnasty International stated it violated rights to freedom of expression and association, and HRW condemned that it seriously damaged the return to genuine democratic rule.
Attitude adjustment Since the
2014 Thai coup d'état, the
National Council for Peace and Order had made full use of
martial law to prosecute opponents, ban political activity, and censor the media. More than 1,000 people, including academics, political bloggers, activists and politicians, have been detained or sent for "attitude adjustment" at military installations. There are allegations of torture. Prosecutions under the country's strict lèse majesté laws, which protect the monarchy from insult, have risen sharply. The victims said that they were taken out of their house and detained in the military base. Renowned dissents such as
Yingluck Shinawatra,
Watana Muangsook,
Pravit Rojanaphruk, and
Karun Hosakul were abused by the NCPO since the coup. Deputy Prime Minister
Prawit Wongsuwan told reporters that "If they speak so 100 times, they will be summoned 100 times." Prawit added that "attitude adjustment" can last between three and seven days.
Peaceful protests On 6 December 2021, the
Royal Thai Police arrested more than fifty local villagers from
Chana District that came to sit in near the
government house, protesting against plans for industrial park in "Southern Economic Corridor".
Freedom of religion Although Thailand describes itself as a Buddhist State, all religious groups have the freedom to practice and maintain communal institutions in Thailand. The constitution prohibits discrimination based on religious belief and protects religious liberty, as long as the exercise of religious freedom is not harmful to the security of the State. Thai law prohibits alcohol sale on
Buddhist holidays, as it violates the 5th of the
Five Precepts, the basic Buddhist code of ethics. The
Muslim community in the
Deep South of Thailand continued to express frustration with perceived discriminatory treatment by security forces and what they said was a judicial system that lacked adequate checks and balances.
South Thailand insurgency Problems have been reported in the southern provinces related to the
South Thailand insurgency. Some 180 persons are reported to have died there while in custody in 2004. In a particularly high-profile case, Muslim human rights lawyer
Somchai Neelaphaijit was reportedly harassed, threatened, and finally
forcibly disappeared in March 2004 following his allegations of torture by state security forces. In 2006, Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra stated that he believed that Somchai was dead and that state security forces appeared to be responsible. Five policemen were eventually charged in Somchai's death, though the trial only resulted in one conviction that was overturned on appeal in March 2011. The verdict was denounced by the
Asian Human Rights Commission, and Somchai's wife
Angkhana declared her intention to continue to appeal the case to the Thai Supreme Court. In late 2019, three young woodcutters were murdered by Thai troops in
Bo-ngo Subdistrict,
Ra-ngae District,
Narathiwat Province. The government claimed initially that the killings occurred in a clash between paramilitary Rangers and terrorists. Later, the Human Rights Protection Committee, appointed by the Fourth Army Area Commander, concluded that soldiers mistook the dead men for terrorists and killed them as they were running away. Families of the deceased pointed out that the young men possessed nothing but wood-cutting tools. Images of the dead men on social media showed that each of them was shot in the head—two of them sitting cross-legged on the ground, leaning forward. The Commander of the Fourth Army Area issued an apology, a compensation payment of 500,000 baht for each death, and transferred the responsible commander of the 45th Ranger Forces Regiment elsewhere. The
Suicide of Khanakorn Pianchana October 2019 called for improvement on the justice in Muslim community in the deep south. Judge Khanakorn told the accused, five
Muslims, and their family members that he wanted to acquit them due to lack of evidence, but was being forced from above to convict. From January 2004 to June 2020,
Pattani,
Yala, and
Narathiwat Provinces, together with four districts of
Songkhla Province, have suffered at least 20,323 violent incidents, resulting in at least 6,997 deaths and 13,143 casualties, 61% of whom were civilians. Vietnamese journalist Truong Duy Nhat has been detained in Hanoi (as acknowledged by Vietnamese authorities) after being picked up on 26 January 2019 in
Bangkok, right after filing for refuge with the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Thai authorities are now being pressured to investigate Thai police involvement in the abduction and detention of Nhat, according to human rights
NGO Amnesty International.
Burmese refugees Burmese refugees in Thailand can stay in one of the refugee camps along the border with Burma, which protect them from arrest and summary removal to Burma but they lack freedom to move or work. Or, they can live and work outside the camps, but typically without recognized legal status of any kind, leaving them at risk of arrest and deportation. From 2005 to 2011, more than 76,000 Burmese refugees were resettled from the border camps to third countries, though the total number of camp residents has remained at about 140,000. Camp refugees who venture out of the camps are regarded by the Thai government as illegal aliens and are subject to arrest. Thai police or paramilitaries regularly apprehend camp residents and either return them to camp if the refugees pay sufficient bribes, or send them to one of Thailand's Immigration Detention Centers and then deport them to Burma. ==Justice system==