(Bangkok) Two young Thai activists prosecuted for lèse-majesté begin their 50 on Wednesdaye day of hunger strike for the abolition of this severely punished crime, in a quasi-indifferent kingdom a few weeks before the legislative elections.
The two young women, who face years behind bars on charges of insulting the royal family, started their protest action on January 18.
Tantawan Tuatulanon (21) and Orawan Phupong (23), respectively nicknamed “Tawan” and “Bam”, have been going through prison, hospital and court since then.
They are currently in a hospital in Bangkok where they are receiving mineral salts, according to their lawyer Krisadang Nootjaras who works within a collective of lawyers for human rights (Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, TLHR), at the forefront of lèse-majesté issues.
They are accused of insulting King Maha Vajiralongkorn and his family during two separate protests in Bangkok in early 2022, according to THLR.
Like them, more than 200 protesters have been charged with lèse-majesté since the giant demonstrations of 2020 which demanded a profound reform of the monarchy, a taboo subject in the country where the king enjoys a status of quasi-divinity.
This is not the first time that activists have gone on a hunger strike to raise awareness about their situation. Parit Chirawak, known as “Penguin”, obtained his release on bail last year after 57 days without food.
The action of “Bam” and “Tawan” comes with the prospect of a national poll in May in which Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha puts his mandate back on the line.
But few are those to publicly support the two pro-democracy activists. No opposition party dares to venture on the very sensitive question of the monarchy.
Duck
“There were a lot of people at the beginning, but the protests attract fewer people,” Mr. Krisadang remarked.
“In this context of repression, people are afraid to speak out, to demand democracy or another cause that is close to their hearts”, analyzed Chanatip Tatiyakaroonwong, researcher for Amnesty International.
The abolition of article 112 is one of the conditions set by “Bam” and “Tawan” to put an end to their movement, along with a reform of the judicial system.
She faces between three and fifteen years in prison under the dreaded article 112 on the crime of lèse-majesté, which serves to stifle any political protest according to its detractors.
In another lèse-majesté case, a man was sentenced to three years in prison on Tuesday – his sentence was reduced to two years without the possibility of parole after his testimony – for selling satirical calendars bearing the image on Facebook. of a rubber duck, a symbol used by protesters three years ago and which the court found offensive to the king.
The lèse-majesté crime creates fear in Thai society, said Napisa Waitoolkiat, a political scientist at Naresuan University, in Phitsanulok.
“This does not mean that the pro-democracy movement has disappeared. It’s just a little less noticeable now,” she continued.