There are protests in Thailand after court rulings sparked outrage Politics News

Bangkok, Thailand – A Thai ruling has raised concerns that activists may be accused of treason after nearly 18 months of anti-government protests calling for a new constitution and royal reform.

The Thai Constitutional Court has handed down a verdict in a lawsuit filed against three protesters facing charges against them under strict royal defamation laws.

A jury of judges ruled on Wednesday that the calls for reform were more than mere rhetorical blasphemy.

The court said their speeches were intended to “overthrow the constitutional monarchy” as Judge Wiroon Sangtian said that the reform of royal laws would “lead the monarchy to a state of disrespect and lead to disobedience among the people”.

Defendant Krisadang Nutcharut’s lawyer told Al Jazeera that the verdict was a dark day.

“It’s not too far to say that [the death penalty] could be granted, “Krisadang said.” This judgment is not limited to Article 112, [lese majeste] but now they see it as an attempt to overthrow the regime, a crime of treason punishable by life imprisonment or death. ‘

The verdict comes after months of protests began in July 2020, with protesters calling for the government to step down and support the reform of the country’s powerful and wealthy monarchy. Unprecedented demands have intensified public debate around the palace, breaking the long-standing taboo about openly criticizing the royal institution.

Among the three defendants in the case are Arnon Nampa and Panupong “Mike” Jadno, who are already facing a prison sentence of more than a century, pleading guilty to numerous charges.

The third, known as Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul “Rung,” was an activist who read out 10 protesters ’demands in August last year, including calls for greater transparency of the king’s wealth and for the monarchy to pay taxes. On bail, he has also been charged under the laws of royal defamation and faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

The judge’s announcement suggests public activism the three protest leaders are being paired with an attempt to overthrow the country’s political system with the king as head of state.

Defense witnesses prohibited

Krisadang and many local rights groups fear that the broad language could be used to impress other people in opposition.

“When the court ordered the‘ network organization ’not to take the same action, no one understands how broad this order is,” said Yingcheep Atchanont, a local iLaw legal expert and manager who promotes freedom of expression.

“There is no legal precedent for how to understand the constitutional court and who can understand it,” he said.

He added that the court did not allow the activists to call witnesses in their defense or to review the indictment documents against them, saying that this made it impossible for them to fight their case fairly.

All three – two of whom are in custody – are being held by the court, which did not give them a chance to make a case, their lawyers say.

Krisadang added that the government has taken steps to dismantle the nation’s most progressive political party, Move Forward, after the verdict.

The opposition party, which caught the attention of the public The Future Forward In the 2019 elections, he clearly called for the country’s royal defamation law to be repealed earlier this year. Following the resolution, it could be considered that it threatens the royal body that justifies the legal dissolution of the party.

Panusaya, 23, was saddened by the judge’s refusal to testify on defense.

“Sovereignty belongs to the people,” the young activist tweeted on Wednesday after the hearing. “When the justice system does not listen equally to both parties, it will surely create injustice,” he wrote in another tweet.

Amnesty International says the ruling sends a disturbing message about the human rights situation in Thailand, but it seems to have strengthened the protest movement.

“If this ruling was intended to arouse fear in the public and prevent further discussion of these issues, then it has backfired,” Emerlynne Gil, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for international research, said in a statement on Friday.

“We see a hashtag, tweets and other spills on social media right after the verdict came out. More than 200,000 Thais have recently signed a petition to repeal Article 112 of the Thai Penal Code.

The verdict was handed down on the same day that the human rights situation in Thailand was being examined in Geneva by the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Amnesty says this is a sign for the international community that Thailand has no intention of complying with international rights standards in terms of freedom of expression.

More organized protests

Thailand has had a constitutional monarchy for almost 90 years, but it has also been marked by frequent military coups, most recently in 2014.

Tyrell Haberkorn, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a dissident policy specialist in Thailand, told Al Jazeera that the decision could lead to more disagreement on the street and online.

“It is very worrying that the Constitutional Court is falling into the same act of reform and rebellion,” he said.

“In the long run, can Thai politics withstand the equation of a peaceful dissent rebellion? The Constitutional Court explained that the decision was taken to preserve the democratic rule of the king as head of state. There is no one-size-fits-all version of democracy in a policy in which peaceful expression of opinion is treated as an attempt to overthrow the state. ”

Two days after the verdict was handed down, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam, a government legal expert, warned protesters to stay out of the street.

“They have to be careful in future rallies,” Wissanu said. He suggested that if protests were held in response to the ruling, the protesters would face more criminal charges.

Demonstrators sparked the Thailand Democracy Monument model after the Constitutional Court ruled that the call for monarchy reform was tantamount to a call to overthrow the political system. New rallies have been scheduled for Sunday [Jack Taylor/AFP]

There is some concern that the decision could lead to violence.

Several anti-government groups have called for a huge demonstration in Bangkok on Sunday, after one of them the biggest protests months ago last weekend.

“Thai history has shown that those in power feel that they are losing strength, that they cannot use the courts or the law, that they can no longer use the media to control people, to arrests, to trials and then to violence.

“It’s similar to what we saw 45 years ago,” Krisadang said, referring to the Thammasat massacre, when dozens of students were killed after troops were shot dead at a university demonstration, an event that is one of the darkest days in the country. Thai history.

Although the outlook is darkening, Krisadang says the three activists remain in a good mood and will not shy away.

“I think they are still determined to fight for the political cause,” he said.