Dujuan Hoosan, 14, Australia

Angelina Jolie and Amnesty International remind the world of its commitment to children’s rights with a book some adults won’t want children to read

1 September 2021

“If politics was good, what would you like to do now?” I asked,

The Thai authorities must urgently investigate the shooting of protesters in Bangkok that has left one child in a critical condition, Amnesty International said after confirming that three children were injured by live rounds of ammunition during a demonstration outside a police station on Monday.

Responding to the fining of an Amnesty International staff member, along with three speakers and a panel moderator, for taking part in a panel discussion on 4 July focusing on the enforced disappearances of Thai activists, including Wanchalearm Satsaksit, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Regional Director Yamini Mishra said:  

The use of force to crack down on the public assembly around the Veterans General Hospital in Bangkok’s Din Daeng District on 1 August has caused injuries among the protesters and people living nearby. At least, ten protesters were held in custody during and after the demonstration. And today (2 August), 33 more arrests were carried out among protesters in front of the Royal Thai Police Sports Club including one 17-year-old child.  

Amidst the violations of human rights in the past several months, political activists have been imprisoned and deprived of their rights to bail, Amnesty Thailand has implemented the project “Letter to a friend in prison”  to pass on hope from outside and let the people inside the prison know that they’re not alone. 

As Thailand battles its deadliest outbreak of Covid-19 since the pandemic began, Amnesty International calls on the Thai authorities to develop and implement an inclusive vaccine roll-out plan that prioritizes at-risk and marginalized individuals, with specific consideration given to groups that have faced historic discrimination, such as prisoners, refugees and undocumented migrant workers. 

As Thai authorities imposed strict virus prevention measures in Bangkok and nine provinces from Monday, Amnesty International calls on authorities to use these restrictions solely to address worsening rates of Covid-19 infection and not to arbitrarily or disproportionately penalise individuals for peacefully exercising their rights. 

Who is Anchan Preelert?

Thai authorities have repeatedly deployed reckless and violent tactics to quell the country’s burgeoning youth protest movement including beating demonstrators, firing chemicals from water cannons and shooting rubber bullets at close range, new research from Amnesty International reveals today.