Arnon Nampha

Thailand

Arnon Nampha is a Thai lawyer who is well known for his role in the 2020-2021 Thai protests. Having been a human rights activist for most of his life, he has persistently taken on pro bono cases of political protestors, and has fervently defended democracy and fair trial standards in Thailand. Mr. Nampha is also a member of the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR), and has received human rights awards for his activism and his work as a lawyer. He has prominently demanded the abolition of Thailand’s lèse-majesté law, which punishes critics of the monarchy to up to 15 years in prison.

Due to his work as a human rights lawyer, Mr. Nampha has been subject to numerous accounts of harassment by Thai authorities, going as far as sentencing him to prison for his activism, from which he has been granted strict conditional bail. Currently, he is facing disbarment proceedings for allegedly violating the Lawyers Council of Thailand’s disciplinary rules as his behaviour would allegedly “incite, intend to cause unrest, distort information and insult monarchy”. While he is fighting this action, Mr. Nampha could potentially be prevented from practicing his profession as a lawyer and human rights defender.

Besides his current disbarment proceedings, Mr. Nampha has faced multiple arrests related to his human rights advocacy between 2020 and 2022. During that period, he has spent around 337 days in prison without trial. He is currently released on bail.