1. Overall situation

As peaceful protests in Thailand grow, the authorities continue to use vague, overly restrictive laws to harass and silence people, said Amnesty International today. The organization calls on the authorities to immediately drop all charges against peaceful protesters and release those still detained.

Responding to news that a court has upheld a government order to shut down “all platforms” of Voice TV, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Campaigns, Ming Yu Hah, said: 

Responding to the dispersal of protesters by Thai police using water cannons with irritants and dye, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Campaigns, Ming Yu Hah, said:  

Ms. Piyanut Kotsan, director of Amnesty International Thailand reveals that four months after Mr. Wanchalearm Satsaksit was last seen in Cambodia’s Phnom Penh, there has been no progress in Cambodian authorities’ investigation of his abduction. His family fervently looks forward to news about his fate and whereabouts. They still long to know the truth about his disappearance, who the alleged perpetrators are and for anyone suspected of involvement in his alleged abduction to face justice. 

Thai authorities issued arrest warrants for 15 pro-democracy leaders and activists for their role in a mass gathering in Bangkok, Thailand’s capital, on 18 July 2020. 16 other protestors have been summoned and charged from the same incident. All 31 face serious allegations including sedition – this broadly worded and repressive law is often used by the government to silence critical voices. If convicted, each activist could face up to seven years in prison. This recent slew of arrests of peaceful demonstrators illustrates the authorities’ intensifying crackdown on freedom of expression and assembly.

Today (11 August 2020), 2 pm, Wanchalearm’s family and Amnesty International Thailand request a meeting with H.E. Mr. Ouk Sorphorn, Ambassador of Cambodia to Thailand, to discuss and acknowledge investigation progress related to the enforced disapperance of Wanchalearm Satsaksit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, since 4 June 2020. The family also celebrates Wanchalearm’s 38th birthday.

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A group of girls who had been forced to leave school when they became pregnant, Freetown, Sierra Leone, 2016

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