Thailand: Third verdict against Anon Nampa and ongoing arbitrary detention

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.