Thailand: UN body says human rights lawyer Anon Nampa’s imprisonment violates international law, calls for his release

Bangkok, Paris, Geneva - November 18, 2024: The WGAD opinion was adopted by the WGAD on August 30, 2024 in response to a petition filed jointly by FIDH and Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) on March 5, 2024, concerning the conviction of Anon Nampa by the Bangkok Criminal Court in two lèse-majesté cases, on September 26, 2023 and January 17, 2024. He was sentenced to four years in prison for each case.

On April 29 and July 25, 2024, Anon was sentenced to two and four additional years in prison, respectively, in two other lèse-majesté cases, bringing his total sentence to 14 years. He is currently incarcerated at the Bangkok Remand Prison, where he has been arbitrarily imprisoned since his first lèse-majesté conviction on September 26, 2023.

Anon is still facing legal action in connection with 10 more lèse-majesté cases that stemmed from the exercise of his right to freedom of opinion and expression during Thailand's pro-democracy protest movement in 2020-2021. Prior to his imprisonment, he was held in pre-trial detention for two prolonged periods (113 days and 202 days). The courts have denied him bail numerous times, including 19 bail requests since September 26, 2023.

Since August 2012, in addition to Anon, the WGAD has found the deprivation of liberty of 11 individuals detained under Article 112 to be "arbitrary" because it contravened several provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

In the opinion that found Anon's deprivation of liberty arbitrary, the WGAD urged the Thai government to release him "immediately" and "accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations."

The WGAD also called on the Thai government to bring Article 112 into conformity with the Working Group's recommendations and the commitments made by Thailand under international human rights law. Article 112 prescribes prison 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.

The WGAD declared Anon's imprisonment under Article 112 arbitrary because it contravened Articles 2, 7, 9, 11, and 19 of the UDHR and Articles 2, 9, 14, 15, 19, and 26 of the ICCPR, to which Thailand is a state party. The referenced provisions of the UDHR and ICCPR guarantee the principles of non-discrimination and equality before the law and the fundamental right to liberty, the right to a fair trial, and the right to freedom of opinion and expression.

The WGAD found that Anon's deprivation of liberty lacked legal basis because he was detained pursuant to Article 112, a piece of legislation that "expressly violates international human rights law" due to its "vague and overly broad" provisions. The WGAD also considered Anon's prolonged periods of pre-trial detention as a result of the court's rejection of his numerous bail requests without conducting a proper individualised determination of his circumstances to be in violation of his right to liberty. Such right is guaranteed under Article 9 of the UDHR, Article 9(3) of the ICCPR, and Principles 38 and 39 of the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment.

The WGAD established that Anon's speeches, including those delivered at demonstrations and online platforms, constituted legitimate expressions. According to the WGAD, the prosecution and imprisonment of Anon under Article 112 were a disproportionate response to his exercise of the right to freedom of expression enshrined in Article 19 of the UDHR and Article 19 of the ICCPR.

With regard to the right to a fair trial, the WGAD stated that the delay to Anon's trials after being charged under Article 112, which was exacerbated by his lengthy pre-trial detention, was "unacceptably long." As a result, the WGAD ruled that Anon's subsequent imprisonment was a violation of his right to be tried within a reasonable time and without undue delay under Articles 9(3) and 14(3)(c) of the ICCPR and Principle 38 of the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment.

The WGAD also ruled that Anon was deprived of liberty "on discriminatory grounds on the basis of his political or other opinion" regarding Article 112, noting the Thai authorities' pattern of prosecuting and detaining individuals who peacefully oppose the law.

The Observatory and TLHR welcome the WGAD's opinion and reiterate their calls for the Thai government to immediately and unconditionally release Anon Nampa and all other individuals, including human rights defenders, who are arbitrarily deprived of their liberty under Article 112.

Despite the ongoing international concern regarding the lèse-majesté law, Thai authorities have continued to prosecute and detain individuals for violating Article 112. Between November 24, 2020 and November 3, 2024, at least 275 individuals, including many human rights defenders and 20 children, were charged under Article 112. Twenty-five of them remain behind bars, in addition to Anon.

The Observatory and TLHR also call on the Thai government to amend Article 112 to bring it into line with Thailand's obligations under the ICCPR and urge the government to refrain from arresting, prosecuting, and detaining human rights defenders under Article 112 for simply exercising their fundamental right to freedom of opinion and expression.

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The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). The objective of this programme is to prevent or remedy situations of repression against human rights defenders. FIDH and OMCT are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented by international civil society.

Since its founding by a group of human rights lawyers two days after the 2014 military coup overthrew the democratically elected government of Thailand, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) has been providing legal assistance to people who are charged and/or prosecuted for exercising their right to freedom of expression or peaceful assembly. TLHR provides legal representation to the politically prosecuted, documents human rights violations in the country, raises public awareness about these issues, as well as engages international human rights mechanisms to supplement its domestic advocacy work.

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