SAR’s Academic Freedom Monitoring Project investigates and reports attacks on higher education with the aim of raising awareness, generating advocacy, and increasing protection for scholars, students, and academic communities. Starting July 1, 2026, SAR no longer publishes reports for the incidents that it records. SAR continues to monitor and record incidents that will be used in the annual Free to Think report. This page provides a record of incidents reported up to that date. Learn more about the Academic Freedom Monitoring Project.

Date of Incident: January 21, 2026

Attack Types: Prosecution

Institution(s):Thammasat University

Region & Country:Southeastern Asia | Thailand

New or Ongoing:New Incident

On January 21, 2026, Thai police summoned four Thammasat University students to face lèse-majesté charges for displaying political satire banners on campus.

The charges stemmed from photos posted by the “Thammasat University Independent Political Satire Group” Facebook page showing white banners at five campus locations. The banners, hung in October 2025, contained messages advocating freedom of expression regarding the monarchy. The action coincided with the royal funeral procession of Queen Sirikit, the Queen Mother. Police identified the four students responsible for hanging the banners through CCTV footage after an initial investigation.

Because the banners were displayed at the same time as the royal funeral, authorities interpreted them as intentional insults and defamation. Investigating officers charged the students with two offenses: jointly defaming, insulting, or showing malice toward the King, Queen, Crown Prince, or Regent under Section 112 of the Criminal Code (lèse-majesté), and uploading computer data that threatens national security under the Computer Crime Act.

The students denied all charges, maintaining that the protest was a legitimate critique of university governance and an exercise of constitutional rights. They were interrogated and released without detention with instructions to report back to the police.

Scholars at Risk is concerned about a criminal investigation into students for their nonviolent exercise of the right to freedom of expression — conduct that is expressly 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. State authorities have an obligation to refrain from restricting or retaliating against expressive activity, so long as it is nonviolent and responsible. In addition to the harm to the immediate victims, criminal investigations intended to chill nonviolent expressive activity — especially when undertaken by students on campus — undermines academic freedom and democratic society generally.

Sources:
https://asianhrds.forum-asia.org/en/entity/qtxtont192
https://112watch.org/freedom-under-the-shadow-of-law/
https://tlhr2014.com/en/archives/81804
https://prachataienglish.com/node/11764