Thailand: End crackdown on peaceful student protesters

Scholars at Risk has issued the below letter to Thai state authorities and international stakeholders in response to distressing reports of authorities using violent force, arrests, and other coercive legal actions against students and other civilians who have participated in peaceful protests and scholars whose publications displease the government. SAR urges Thailand’s Prime Minister, General Prayut Chan-ocha, to direct the appropriate authorities to release wrongfully imprisoned students and activists, to drop any charges against them, and to promote and protect academic freedom, freedom of expression, and freedom of assembly.

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General Prayut Chan-ocha
Prime Minister of Thailand
Government House
1 Phitsanulok Road
Dusit 10300
Bangkok, Thailand

Via email to: prforeign@gmail.com

November 2, 2020

RE: End crackdown on peaceful student protesters

Your Excellency:

I write on behalf of the Scholars at Risk Network to express concern over the use of violent force by police, arrests, summons and other coercive legal actions against students, scholars, and activists peacefully exercising their rights to academic freedom, freedom of expression, and freedom of assembly in Thailand over the past several months. I respectfully urge you to direct the appropriate authorities to release wrongfully imprisoned students and activists, to drop any charges against them, and to promote and protect the free exercise of the aforementioned rights.

Scholars at Risk (SAR) is an international network of over 500 universities and colleges in 39 countries dedicated to promoting academic freedom and its constituent freedoms of thought, opinion, expression, association, and travel. In cases involving alleged infringement of these freedoms, Scholars at Risk intervenes in hopes of clarifying and resolving matters favorably.

Since July 2020, university students in Thailand have played a leading role in organizing protests seeking pro-democratic government reforms. Despite the reportedly peaceful nature of the protests, Thai state authorities have arrested or issued warrants for a growing number of students and activists who have participated in the protests. These include Thammasat University students Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul, Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak, and Jutatip Sirikhan, and Ramkhamhaeng University student Panupong Jadnok, to name a few. As of this writing, more than 34 students have been arrested or named in warrants and face charges including, in some cases, “sedition.” On October 16, police fired water cannons at students and other demonstrators assembled in downtown Bangkok. National and international human rights groups have described the act as a violent attempt to quash peaceful dissent. Police further used the state of emergency law to restrict expression outside protests, issuing warnings against news outlets and social media users that make comments considered to be critical of the monarchy.

SAR is further concerned by actions targeting the journal and publishing house Fah Diew Kan. On October 19, police carried out a search of the Fah Diew Kan offices and brought founding editor Thanapol Eawsakul in for questioning. SAR understands that the police warrant cited three books: one written in 2013 by Thai historian and Professor Emeritus Thongchai Winichakul that was found to be “dangerous” in the context of the ongoing protests and incited “hatred of the institution of the monarchy”; and two by Assistant Professor Dr. Nattapoll Chaiching, which were found to “contain content that may impact and be a danger to security.” The warrant concluded by noting that “it is therefore believed that the aforementioned books were produced with the aim of creating agitation and resistance among the people, which is an offence against state security.”

The facts as described above suggest a campaign to restrict and punish the peaceful exercise of the rights to freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, and academic freedom—rights protected under international human rights instruments including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Thailand is a party. The use of violent force, arrests, and other coercive legal actions to restrict freedom of expression, in particular student expression—a pillar of quality higher education and democratic society—and other fundamental human rights raises serious concerns about the state of academic freedom and higher education in Thailand.

SAR therefore respectfully urges you to direct the appropriate authorities to release all scholars, students, activists, and others detained for protected nonviolent expression or conduct; to drop any charges against the accused arising out of such expression or conduct; and to ensure that prosecutions of any persons not released proceed in a manner consistent with Thailand’s obligations under international law. SAR further urges the Thai government to protect and promote academic freedom, including by publicly affirming the importance of academic freedom in Thailand and refraining from policies or actions that restrict or punish scholars or students exercising the right.

We appreciate your attention to this important matter and look forward to your reply.

Sincerely,

Robert Quinn
Executive Director

CC:

The Honorable Don Pramudwinai
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thailand
Via email to: minister@mfa.go.th

The Honorable Chatsuda Chandeeying
Commissioner
National Human Rights Commission, Thailand
Via email to: help@nhrc.or.th

Police General Suwat Jangyodsuk
Commander-in-Chief
Royal Thai Police Headquarters
Via email to: info@royalpolice.go.th

The Honorable Somsak Thepsuthin
Minister of Justice
Ministry of Justice, Thailand
Via email to: complainingcenter@moj.go.th

The Honorable Chuan Leekpai
President of the National Assembly, Thailand
Via email to: Chuan@democrat.or.th

The Honorable Michael R. Pompeo
United States Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
Via email to: secretary@state.gov

The Honorable Michelle Bachelet
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Via email to: InfoDesk@ohchr.org

The Honorable Irene Khan
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Via email to: freedex@ohchr.org

The Honorable Clement Nyaletsossi Voule
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Via email to: freeassembly@ohchr.org

The Honorable Dr. Koumbou Boly Barry
United Nations Special Rapporteur on Right to Education
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Via email to: sreducation@ohchr.org