Pro-democracy activist and MP Chonthicha Jangrew sentenced to two years in prison

THA 003 / 0624 / 020

Conviction/judicial harassment

Thailand

June 3, 2024

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership between the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), has received new information and requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Thailand.

Description of the situation:

The Observatory was informed of the conviction of Ms. Chonthicha Jangrewa prominent pro-democracy activist and MP for the Move Forward party.

On May 27, 2024, the Thanyaburi Provincial Court sentenced Ms. Chonthicha to three years in prison under Article 112 of the Criminal Code (lese majeste). [1] for a speech she gave during a peaceful protest in September 2021. The court found her testimony valuable and reduced her sentence by a third, resulting in a two-year prison term. The same day the verdict was delivered, Ms. Chonthicha was provisionally released on bail with a bond of 150,000 THB (3,778 euros), pending her appeal. If her request had been refused or if she had been detained pending consideration of her request for bail, her status as an MP would have ended.

The court convicted Ms. Chonthicha under Article 112, citing her speech on September 11, 2021 at the Thanyaburi Provincial Court in Pathum Thani province, where she requested the release of four political prisoners. In this speech, she reportedly criticized the then government led by then Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha for enacting two laws expanding King Rama X's power over royal services and public property.

In the same case, Ms. Chonthicha was also charged under the Emergency Decree, the Communicable Diseases Act, 2015, and the Control of Advertising Using Sound Amplifiers Act, 1950, alongside nine others activists. The Court rejected these two accusations.

Ms. Chonthicha also faces a second lese majeste case stemming from charges filed by the Technological Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) police on January 25, 2021. This case concerns a Facebook post she made on November 8, 2020, as part of the “Messages from the People” organized by the pro-democracy group Free Youth. In her letter to King Rama the monarchy.

The Observatory recalls that Ms. Chonthicha is the subject of judicial harassment and criminalization because of her commitment to democracy for many years. On May 17 and 21, 2019, she and 15 activists were charged under Section 116 (“sedition”) and Section 215 (“participation in unlawful assembly”) of the Thai Penal Code. These charges stem from their participation in a peaceful protest organized in front of the Pathumwan police station in Bangkok on the evening of June 24, 2015 to denounce police brutality. She was also arrested during a peaceful protest in May 2018, with Anon Nampawho is currently serving a total prison sentence of ten years and 20 days for the crime of lèse-majesté.

The Observatory notes with concern that between November 24, 2020 and May 30, 2024, 272 people, including numerous human rights defenders and 20 minors, were charged under article 112 of the Penal Code. Seventeen of them are currently detained awaiting trial, eight are serving prison sentences and one minor is detained at the Child Observation and Protection Center. On May 14, 2024, young activist “Bung” Thaluwang, detained before trial for “lèse majesté”, died in detention after a prolonged hunger strike which ended in April 2024.

The Observatory strongly condemns the conviction and ongoing legal harassment against Ms. Chonthicha Jangrew. These actions appear to be aimed solely 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 put an end to all forms of judicial harassment against him as well as against all pro-democracy activists currently being prosecuted.

Actions requested:

Please write to the Thai authorities asking them to:

– Guarantee in all circumstances the physical integrity and psychological well-being of Ms. Chonthicha Jangrew and all other human rights defenders and pro-democracy activists in Thailand;

– Overturn the convictions handed down against Ms. Chonthicha Jangrew, end all acts of harassment, including at the judicial level, against her and all other human rights defenders and pro-democracy activists in the country, and ensure that they can lead their legitimate activities without any hindrance and fear of reprisals;

– Guarantee in all circumstances the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, as enshrined in international human rights law, and in particular by articles 19 and 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ( ICCPR), to which Thailand is a party. ;

– Refrain from using article 112 of the Penal Code to target human rights defenders and pro-democracy activists.

Addresses:

• Mr. Srettha Thavisin, Prime Minister of Thailand, Email: [email protected]

• Mr. Maris Sangiampongsa, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, Email: [email protected]

• Mr. Tawee Sodsong, Minister of Justice of Thailand, Email: [email protected]

• General Songwit Noonpackdee, Commander-in-Chief of the Army, Email: [email protected]

• Pol Gen Damrongsak Kittiprapas, Commissioner General of Police, Email: [email protected]

• Ms. Pornprapai Ganjanarinte, National Commissioner for Human Rights of Thailand, Email: [email protected], [email protected]

• HE Ms. Usana Berananda, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of Thailand to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Email: [email protected]

• HE Ms. Kanchana Patarachoke, Ambassador Designate, Embassy of Thailand in Belgium and Luxembourg, and Head of the Mission of Thailand to the European Union, Belgium, Email: [email protected]

Please also write to the diplomatic representatives of Thailand in your respective countries.

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Geneva-Paris, June 3, 2024

Please notify us of any action taken by quoting the code for this call in your response.

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

To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:

• Email: [email protected]

• Tel FIDH: + 33 (0) 1 43 55 25 18

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