L4L writes to Thai Criminal Court in lèse-majesté case against Arnon Nampa ahead of verdict hearing

Thailand

Lawyers for Lawyers has written to the Bangkok Criminal Court ahead of the verdict hearing in Black Case No. Aor. 1395/2565 against Thai human rights lawyer Arnon Nampa. Read the full intervention letter here.

“According to information received, Arnon Nampa faces charges under section 112 of the Criminal Code for allegedly defaming or insulting King Rama X, alongside charges under Section 14(3) of the Computer Crimes Act B.E. 2550 (2007) for entering data into a computer system ‘which is an offence related to national security of the Kingdom of Thailand or related to terrorism under the Criminal Code’. Arnon Nampa’s prosecution stems from a social media post published on 8 November 2020, in which he criticised the Thai King for conducting himself in a manner contrary to democratic principles which permitted the King to be the country’s head of state. In the post, he cited examples of, inter alia, legislative amendments beneficial to the King himself, the use of taxpayers’ money in an extravagant manner, and the King’s request to amend the draft constitution previously approved by the Thai people in a referendum.

In making these comments on matters of public concern, Arnon Nampa was exercising his right to freedom of expression, protected under international and Thai law.

L4L is concerned that the persistent and repeated prosecution of Arnon Nampa under Thailand’s lèse-majesté law, following previous convictions in similar cases (July 2024; September 2023) as well as the ongoing disbarment proceedings before the Lawyers Council of Thailand, relate to his professional duties as a lawyer and other human rights activities. Arnon Nampa’s cumulative prison sentence now totals 14 years, 2 months, and 20 days. With an impending verdict, he risks exceeding the 15-year threshold that mandates transfer to Klong Prem Central Prison, a maximum-security prison. Thus far, all bail requests have been denied on the grounds that his actions allegedly harmed the democratic system with the King as head of state, and due to concerns that he might flee if released.”