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The
Observatory has been informed about the new conviction and subsequent
prison sentence of Mr Anon
Nampa,
a prominent pro-democracy activist and human rights lawyer who has
been arbitrarily imprisoned since September 26, 2023.
On
April 29, 2024, the Bangkok South Criminal Court found Mr Anon Nampa
guilty under Article 112 of Thailand’s Criminal Code
(“lèse-majesté”)1
and sentenced him to three years in prison, in relation to a speech
he gave during a
protest in
central Bangkok on August 3, 2021, where he criticized the transfer
of public property into King Rama X’s personal ownership and called
for the reform of the Thai monarchy. Additionally, Mr Anon was
sentenced to one month in prison for violating the Emergency Decree.
Because he gave useful testimony, the Court reduced his sentence to
two years for “lèse-majesté”, and to 20 days for the Emergency
Decree violation. Mr Anon plans to appeal this sentence.
The
Observatory recalls that this marks the third conviction of Mr Anon
under Article 112 of the Criminal Code. Mr Anon is currently serving
a total prison term of 10 years and 20 days.
On
September 26, 2023, the Criminal Court sentenced
him to four years in prison on one count of “lèse-majesté”, and
imposed a fine of 20,000 baht (approximately 525 Euros) for violation
of the Emergency Decree. This legal action arose from a speech that
Mr Anon delivered on October 14, 2020, during a peaceful
demonstration
at Bangkok’s Democracy Monument, where protesters had gathered to
call on the government to comply with the three demands put forward
by the pro-democracy movement that began in February 2020, including
the reform of the Thai monarchy2.
Mr Anon was charged with “lèse-majesté” over his statements
referring to King Rama X as the person with the sole authority to
order the dispersal of protests, instead of the riot police. On
September 30, 2023, the Court of Appeals rejected Mr Anon’s request
for bail, citing the severity of his sentence and the fact that he
would be a flight risk, if released on bail.
On
January 17, 2024, the Bangkok Criminal Court found Mr Anon Nampa
guilty under one count of “lèse-majesté” and Section 14(3) of
the Computer Crimes Act3
and sentenced
him to four years in prison. These charges stemmed from three
Facebook posts he published on January 1 and January 3, 2021,
questioning the enforcement of Article 112 of the Criminal Code and
advocating for the right to freedom of expression in connection with
criticism of the Thai monarchy.
The
Observatory further recalls that Anon Nampa is currently facing legal
action in connection with 11 more “lèse-majesté” cases. Mr Anon
was previously arbitrarily detained
twice. From February 9 to June 1, 2021, he was detained for 113 days
on charges of “lèse-majesté” and “sedition” (Article 116 of
Thailand Criminal Code). These charges were related to a speech
concerning the Thai monarchy that he delivered during a peaceful
pro-democracy protest at Bangkok’s Sanam Luang on September 19,
2020. The second detention spanned 202 days, from August 11, 2021, to
February 28, 2022, in relation to 12 additional “lèse-majesté”
cases. His temporary release requests were denied numerous times.
At
the time of publication of this Urgent Appeal, he remains detained at
the Bangkok Remand Prison, where he has been arbitrarily imprisoned
since his first “lèse-majesté” conviction on September 26,
2023.
The
Observatory notes with concern that between November 24, 2020, and
May 22, 2024, 272 people, including many human rights defenders and
20 minors, were charged under Article 112 of the Criminal Code. 18 of
them are currently detained pending trial, and seven more serving
prison sentences. On May 14, 2024, youth activist “Bung”
Thaluwang, detained pre-trial under “lèse-majesté”, died
in custody
after a prolonged hunger strike that ended in April 2024.
The
Observatory strongly condemns the recent conviction, sentencing, and
continued arbitrary detention of Mr Anon Nampa, along with the
ongoing judicial harassment against him. These actions appear to be
solely aimed at punishing him for his legitimate human rights
activities and the exercise of his rights to freedom of expression
and of peaceful assembly.
The
Observatory calls on the Thai authorities to immediately and
unconditionally release Mr Anon and all other arbitrarily detained
human rights defenders in the country and to put an end to all forms
of judicial harassment against them.
1Article
112 of the Thai Criminal Code imposes jail terms of three to 15
years for those found guilty of defaming, insulting, or threatening
the King, the Queen, the Heir to the throne, or the Regent.
2The
three demands were: 1) the resignation of then-Prime Minster Prayuth
Chan-ocha; 2) the reform of the monarchy; and 3) the drafting of a
new constitution.
3Article
14 of the Computer Crimes Act prescribes imprisonment of up to five
years or a fine of up to one hundred thousand baht or both for those
guilty of importing into a computer system any computer data related
with an offence against the Kingdom's security under the Criminal
Code.
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