Friends, people of the world, lend me your ears.
Today, I speak not just for myself but for the silenced voices of Thailand—a nation teetering on the edge of democratic collapse, suffocated by harsh, illegitimate, and barbaric practices that trample on universal human rights. The story of Thailand’s struggle is not just a local tragedy; it’s a warning to the world about what happens when power clings to control at the expense of freedom, justice, and humanity. Let me take you through the stark reality, backed by evidence, and ask you to reflect: how long can a nation endure when its people are shackled?Let’s start with the heart of the issue: Thailand’s lèse-majesté law, known as Article 112 of the Penal Code, often described as the world’s harshest law of its kind. This law criminalizes any perceived insult to the monarchy, carrying penalties of up to 15 years per count. Since 2020, it has been weaponized to crush dissent, particularly against the youth-led pro-democracy movement that dared to dream of a freer Thailand. By February 2023, at least 1,895 individuals faced political prosecution in 1,180 cases, with 233 charged under lèse-majesté laws alone. Imagine this: a 28-year-old activist, Netiporn “Bung” Sanesangkhom, died in a prison hospital in May 2024 after a 110-day hunger strike, protesting her detention for conducting an opinion poll about royal motorcades. Her crime? Asking a question. Her punishment? Death in a cell. This is not justice; it’s barbarism dressed in legal robes.
The numbers are staggering, but the stories behind them are gut-wrenching. Take Mongkol Thirakhot, sentenced in January 2024 to a record-breaking 50 years in prison—50 years—for Facebook posts deemed insulting to the monarchy. Or Arnon Nampa, a human rights lawyer, now serving over 10 years for a 2020 speech calling for monarchy reform, with more charges pending. These are not isolated cases but part of a systematic crackdown. Since July 2020, at least 470 women human rights defenders have faced charges for participating in peaceful protests, enduring financial ruin, deteriorating health, and family hardship. The UN Human Rights Committee has declared imprisonment for lèse-majesté incompatible with human rights, yet Thailand persists, creating a climate of fear and self-censorship.
This repression isn’t just about silencing critics; it’s about dismantling democracy itself. Thailand’s 2017 constitution, drafted under military rule, ensures unelected institutions—like a 250-member Senate appointed by the former junta—wield veto power over elected officials. In 2023, the Move Forward Party (MFP), which won the most votes in a historic election, was blocked from forming a government by this unelected Senate. By August 2024, the Constitutional Court dissolved the MFP entirely, banning its leaders from politics for a decade, simply for advocating reform of the lèse-majesté law. This wasn’t justice; it was a judicial coup, stripping 14 million voters of their choice. The message is clear: the will of the people is secondary to the will of the elite.
The violence of the state extends beyond laws to physical brutality. During the 2020–2021 pro-democracy protests, authorities used live ammunition, tear gas, and water cannons against peaceful demonstrators, some as young as 12. In August 2021, Tanat Thanakitamnuay lost sight in one eye after being shot with a teargas canister by police. Yet, accountability is a mirage. No soldiers or officials have been prosecuted for the 2010 “Red Shirt” crackdown, which killed 99 and injured over 2,000. The 2004 Tak Bai massacre, where 85 Malay Muslim protesters died, saw no convictions as the statute of limitations expired in October 2024. Impunity reigns, and the blood of the innocent stains Thailand’s conscience.
Human rights defenders face relentless persecution. Angkhana Neelapaijit, a Magsaysay Award winner, has been targeted with strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP) and unlawful surveillance for her work exposing enforced disappearances. The case of Wanchalearm Satsaksit, forcibly disappeared in Cambodia in 2020, remains unresolved, with Thai authorities pressuring venues to cancel events commemorating him. Thailand’s Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act, effective since 2022, is weakly enforced, leaving victims without justice.
The government’s actions mock Thailand’s international commitments. As a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights since 1948 and a member of the UN Human Rights Council for 2025–2027, Thailand’s pledges ring hollow. The UN’s Universal Periodic Review in 2022 raised concerns about torture, enforced disappearances, and restrictions on freedom of expression, yet no concrete reforms have followed. Just this month, on July 15, 2025, Thailand’s parliament rejected amnesty proposals for hundreds facing lèse-majesté charges, cementing the state’s refusal to honor fair trial standards
What does this mean for Thailand’s future? A nation where dissent is a crime, where elections are undermined by unelected elites, and where justice is a privilege for the powerful is a nation on a path to stagnation. The youth, once vibrant with hope, are being crushed—jailed, silenced, or driven into exile. The dissolution of the Move Forward Party and the jailing of activists like Pimsiri Petchnamrob, charged for a 2020 protest speech, signal a regime desperate to cling to power. Economic progress falters when innovation and free thought are stifled; foreign investors hesitate when courts serve as tools of repression. Thailand risks becoming a pariah, isolated from the democratic world, while its people bear the cost.
But there is hope. In September 2024, Thailand became the first Southeast Asian nation to legalize same-sex marriage, a beacon of progress amidst the darkness. Yet, this step forward cannot erase the broader pattern of abuse. The world must act—call out Thailand’s violations, demand the repeal of lèse-majesté laws, and support the brave activists fighting for their rights. To the people of Thailand, I say: your three-finger salute, raised in defiance, echoes the universal cry for freedom. To the world, I ask: will you stand by as a nation’s soul is smothered, or will you amplify these voices until justice prevails?
This is not just Thailand’s fight—it’s a battle for the very principles of human dignity and democracy. Let us not look away.
Thai Alliance for Human Rights 