Leader of Thai reform movement charged with royal defamation

Thailand

Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit indicted by public prosecutors over comments he made last year

The leader of a prominent reform movement that seeks to restore democracy in Thailand has been charged with royal defamation in what rights advocates have called a concerted campaign by authorities to silence dissenting voices.

Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, 43, the head of the Progressive Movement, was indicted by public prosecutors this week over comments the charismatic young politician made last year.

In a talk streamed online, the politician criticized a decision by the government to award the contract for the domestic manufacturing of the AstraZeneca vaccine to a small royally owned company with no track record in making vaccines.

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As a result of those comments, Thanathorn has been charged with lese majeste as any criticism of the king or the monarchy as an institution is prohibited by law in Thailand and is punishable with up to 15 years in prison per charge. 

He has also been charged with violating the Computer Crime Act, an equally draconian piece of legislation, because he made his comments via a livestream during the Covid-19 pandemic as the Thai government’s procurement of vaccines had become mired in controversy over repeated delays and allegations of malfeasance. 

Following his indictment, Thanathorn told reporters that he believed the charges were politically motivated and that he would fight them in court.

“By eliminating opposition parties and threatening their leaders with prison terms, the Thai government is heading down the path of neighboring countries where autocratic, single-party rule has thoroughly destroyed any pretense of democracy or respect for human rights” 

“It’s clear that because I am one of the key opposition leaders I think the objective is to silence me and make the public afraid [to speak out]. So if we can keep silent, keep our mouths shut, they will win,” he said.

Since November 2020, more than 180 mostly young Thais have been charged with royal defamation for statements they made online and during youth-led street demonstrations that saw participants demand democratic reforms, including new constitutional limits on the monarchy.

The youth-led demonstrations erupted in June that year, a few months after the Constitutional Court disbanded Thanathorn’s Future Forward Party, the country’s third-largest political party, over a legal technicality.

The court also banned Thanathorn and several other leaders of the party from politics for 10 years.

Rights groups have accused Thai authorities of waging “lawfare” against members of the progressive party and pro-democracy activists alike in an effort to silence all criticism of the military-allied government, which seized power in a coup in 2014, and of the establishment.

“Since the Constitutional Court wrongfully dissolved the Future Forward Party, Thanathorn has faced a barrage of arbitrary legal actions from agencies packed with military junta-appointed personnel,” said Brad Adams, Asia director of Human Rights Watch.

“By eliminating opposition parties and threatening their leaders with prison terms, the Thai government is heading down the path of neighboring countries where autocratic, single-party rule has thoroughly destroyed any pretense of democracy or respect for human rights.” 

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