Thailand: Conviction and prison sentence of pro-democracy student activist Tantawan Tuatulanon on lèse-majesté charges

The Observatory has been informed of the conviction and sentencing of Ms. Tantawan "Tawan" Tuatulanon, a student activist associated with pro-democracy groups Draconis Revolution and Thalu Wang (Shattering the Palace), who has advocated for the abolition of Article 112 of the Thai Criminal Code (lèse-majesté) and the reform of the Thai monarchy.

On 31 August 2026, the Bangkok Criminal Court convicted Ms. Tantawan on charges under Article 112 of Thailand’s Criminal Code and Article 14(2) and (3) of the 2007 Computer Crimes Act and sentenced her to three years in prison, reduced to two years, over a Facebook livestream she conducted on 5 March 2022 from a footpath on Ratchadamnoen Nok Road, opposite the UN ESCAP building in Bangkok, shortly before a royal motorcade was due to pass. The court held her remarks were intended to insult the monarchy rather than constituting an exercise of freedom of expression. Ms. Tantawan was also fined 600 baht (approximately 15.57 euros) for failing to comply with the police order to stop the livestream. The court reduced the three-year sentence to two years in consideration of her useful testimony in the case. She was granted temporary release on a 100,000 baht (approximately 2,606 euros) bail the same day pending appeal. FIDH President Alexis Deswaef attended the hearing as a show of solidarity with Ms. Tantawan and all human rights defenders unjustly prosecuted on lèse-majesté charges.

In a separate case, on 6 July 2026, the Bangkok South Criminal Court acquitted Ms. Tantawan and six co-defendants of charges under Article 112 and Article 116 (sedition) of the Criminal Code, brought over a public opinion poll on royal motorcades that the group had conducted outside a Bangkok shopping mall on 8 February 2022. The court held that the campaign, which invited the public to give their opinion by placing stickers on a whiteboard, amounted to an exercise of the constitutionally protected right to freedom of expression, and found that it did not directly refer to the King, Queen, heir apparent or regent. Proceedings against co-defendant Ms. Netiporn "Bung" Sanesangkhom had been discontinued following her death in custody on 14 May 2024.

Between November 2020 and August 2026, 293 individuals have been charged under Article 112, including 20 children. Of these, 31 are currently detained (12 pending trial, and 19 serving their final sentences).

The Observatory recalls that the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), in its Opinion No. 49/2023, adopted on 30 August 2023, found Ms. Tantawan’s deprivation of liberty stemming from her Facebook livestream case, arbitrary.

The Observatory strongly condemns the conviction and prison sentence against Ms Tantawan Tuatulanon as it appears to be solely aimed at punishing her for her legitimate human rights activities and the exercise of her rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

The Observatory calls on the Thai authorities to immediately and unconditionally quash the conviction and sentencing and end all forms of judicial harassment against her and all pro-democracy activists currently prosecuted.