In Thailand, the monarchy is revered. The country has some of the world’s harshest laws against defaming, insulting, or threatening the king, the queen, the heir apparent, and the regent. Breaking the laws, which are known as lese majeste (insulting the monarchy), can lead to three to 15 years in prison for each violation under Article 112 of Thailand’s Criminal Code.
The number of lese majeste cases in Thailand has risen in the past year. “After almost a three-year hiatus in which lese majeste prosecutions were not brought before the courts, in November 2020 Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha ordered the authorities to resume lese majeste prosecutions because of growing criticisms of the monarchy,” reports Human Rights Watch.
Throughout 2020, high school and university students led a wave of massive protests across Thailand and called for reform of the political system, including the role of the monarchy. “Some have also broken a longstanding taboo, and risked prison sentences, to demand the power and wealth of the country’s monarchy be curbed,” reports The Guardian.
As of June 11, 2021, as many as 100 activists and netizens were charged with lese majeste. At least 16 of them face pre-trial detention. Such detention could “condemn them to detention for years until their trial is concluded,” reports Human Rights Watch. (According to the group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, 97 activists including eight minors are facing lese majeste charges after the government late last year stepped up its legal offensive against protesters.)
It is during this stage that the activists behind bars must accept certain conditions imposed by the court if they want their temporary freedom. The court will dismiss the petitions for bail of activists who do not agree to the conditions, such as the prohibition for them “to take part in any activity that may harm the monarchy.” The court is likely to dismiss said petitions until the activists agree to the condition. In this manner, the state uses the conditions for bail to limit anti-government protesters’ freedom of expression and movement.
“Possible danger”
The Thai Code of Criminal Procedure provides the legal basis for the court to issue the terms for temporary release or bail, which can be found in Section 108, paragraph 3, as follows: “In granting a provisional release, the official empowered to so grant or the court may stipulate any condition governing the residence of the person provisionally released or any other condition to be observed by such person, in order to prevent his abscondence or any possible danger or injury which might ensue from the provisional release.” (Non-official translation supplied.)
The phrase “possible danger” in the above text is vague. The court has a free hand in interpreting this condition, which not only aims to prevent possible damage for witnesses or evidence which may cause damage to the trial but also aims to limit the movement of the activists. The court can limit the movements of the people released on bail by setting a distance for how far they can travel or by limiting their stay only to their own residence. Should they wish to do otherwise, they will need the court’s permission.
Onerous conditions
The conditions for bail set for the detained activists are oppressive due to three reasons.
- The condition “not to commit offenses similar to their allegations” was deemed by the group Thai Lawyer for Human Right as being vague and may be used as legal basis to limit freedom of expression. It also observed that since in that case the allegation was made by the authorities while the alleged offender pleaded “no guilty,” then the court should not act as if the alleged offender has been found guilty.
- The condition “not to take part in activities that may harm the monarchy” expands the limit of criticism provided by the lese majeste law. The law provides protection specifically to the king, the queen, the heir apparent, and the regent. However, when the court stipulated bail conditions, it used the word “monarchy institution,” a phrase that included those who were not previously protected under the lese majeste law.
- The condition “not to participate in activities that may provoke unrest in the society” is a vague condition that could be used by the authorities or the opposition as a tool to limit the movement of the defendants. On May 17, the royalist activists group called Center of Thai Protect the Monarchy (no official translation) filed a petition with the prosecutor’s office to request the court to revoke the bail of Somyot Pruksakasemsuk and Jatupat Boontararaksa, the two defendants from the September 19, 2020 protest case, on the ground that the two took part in an activity in a public place to demand the release of the remaining lese majeste offenders who are detained pending for trial.
Electronic tracking tags
In July 2020, a group called Free Youth organized a protest near Democracy Monument in Bangkok. Two key leaders of the anti-government protest movement, human rights lawyer Arnon Nampa and fellow activist Panupong Jadnok, spoke during the protest. They were arrested in August 2020 and charged with sedition.
Their previous applications for bail were denied, and they contracted COVID-19 while in prison. They underwent treatment at Thammasat University Hospital under the supervision of the prison authority.
Thailand’s “chronically overcrowded” prisons have become COVID-19 hotspots. In May, more than 17,000 people in prison have contracted the disease. According to the Ministry of Health, between June 1 to 16, at least 6,749 confirmed cases were reported in five prison facilities, including the Bangkok Remand Prison where the political activists were detained.
Thankfully, Nampa and Jadnok recovered from the illness. Finally, on June 1, they were released on bail on the condition that they refrain from activities deemed to defame the monarchy.
The use of electronic tracking devices has also been part of the conditions for bail. On May 6, Piyarat Chongthep, the activist who leads the We Volunteer group, was released on bail in a lese majeste case by the Kalasin Provincial Court on the condition that he wears an electronic monitoring bracelet. In a telephone conversation, Chongthep confirmed that the court canceled the requirement for him to use the device on June 28. The device was removed. Then, on May 11, Phromsorn Weerathamjaree, another activist who faced lese majeste charges, was also released on the condition that he agree to be tracked electronically. On June 8, Weerathamjaree posted on his Facebook account that the device had been removed after he filed a petition with the court.
A disturbing development
The state uses the onerous conditions for bail to gag anti-government protesters and to restrict their movements. It seems to have underestimated the determination of the protesters to continuously call for needed reforms, though.
On June 24, the protesters rallied to mark the 89th anniversary of the Siamese Revolution, a bloodless coup that brought an end to the country’s absolute monarchy and ushered in constitutional rule, reports Al Jazeera. The demonstrators who marched in Bangkok had three demands: “constitutional reform, the removal of 250 military appointees from the parliament, and the resignation of Prayuth.” Leaders including Nampa and Jadnok were out on the streets again at the forefront of the rallies.
On June 25, the fate of the freed activists again became uncertain. Sonthiya Sawasdee, an adviser to the chairman of the House Law, Justice and Human Rights Committee in the House of Representatives filed a petition with the president of the Criminal Court to revoke the bail of activists including Jadnok, Nampa, Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul, Boontararaksa, and Parit Chiwarak on the ground that they failed to uphold the conditions of their bail when they participated in the June 24 protest. This disturbing development merits close monitoring. ●
Anon Chawalawan is an officer of iLaw, a nationwide NGO that documents abuse against civil and political rights in Thailand.