The Clooney Foundation for Justice, the human rights campaign group established by George and Amal Clooney, has petitioned the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention over the death in custody of Thai activist Netiporn “Bung” Sanesangkhom.
Sanesangkhom died on May 14 following a 65-day hunger strike after repeatedly being denied bail while facing charges of insulting the monarchy (lèse majesté). She was 28.
The Clooney Foundation’s TrialWatch unit says that it is “seeking remedies for violations of Netiporn’s rights, including reparations for her family and, more broadly, an opinion from the Working Group urging Thailand to stop misusing detention to stifle criticism of the monarchy.”
Sanesangkhom had been in and out of prison following charges relating to her involvement in an informal opinion poll in February 2022, which sought the public’s views on whether the royal family’s motorcades were an inconvenience to the public. Thai authorities allege this to be an insult to the monarchy and sedition.
Thailand has some of the world’s strictest lèse majesté laws and authorities regularly use Section 112 of the Criminal Code to stifle pro-democracy commentary.
According to TrialWatch, more than 270 people have been charged with lèse majesté in Thailand in the past four years. One person recently found guilty, in relation to a post on Facebook, was given a 50-year jail sentence.
“Thailand’s lèse majesté law is a blunt instrument of oppression against Thai citizens exercising their rights, under international law, of freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and freedom from arbitrary detention,” said David J. Scheffer, TrialWatch expert and former U.S. ambassador at large for war crimes issues.
Thailand is busily trying to stimulate a “soft power” initiative and establish itself as hub for global entertainment industry production. Currently being discussed as part of that initiative is the abolition of pre-release film censorship. While filmmakers including Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Ing Kanjanavanit have previously seen some of their works barred from release, authorities now argue that the government does not need to ban movies as other laws, such as Section 112, still apply.
The country is also bidding for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council. The Clooney Foundation’s Trialwatch, however, says that the government’s clampdown on criticism of the monarchy appears to be escalating.
The organization says it is monitoring a case in which a defendant is facing charges simply for repeating the UN’s views of the lèse majesté law. And in January, the Thai Constitutional Court ruled that a political party’s efforts to reform the law were treasonous.
The organization says the presumption of guilt is “a concerning tactic in lèse majesté cases.” That leads courts to either deny defendants bail pending trial or make the offer of bail on the condition that they refrain from activism.
“There is much work to be done now to challenge the vagueness and misguided enforcement of the lèse majesté law and to ensure that Thailand does not obtain membership in the UN Human Rights Council until it protects fundamental human rights, which it so woefully failed to do in Netiporn’s case,” Scheffer said. “Netiporn’s tragic death should be a wake-up call both to the Thai government, which should finally heed calls for reforming its lèse majesté law, and to the international community.”
