Human Rights Watch (HRW) published this alert. Take a look at an excerpt:

The Bangkok Criminal Court has denied bail requests and ordered four prominent democracy activists into pretrial detention on lese majeste charges, Human Rights Watch said today. The order could condemn them to detention for years until their trial is concluded.

On February 9, 2021, the attorney general indicted Arnon Nampha, Parit Chiwarak, Somyot Pruksakasemsuk, and Patiwat Saraiyaem for violating penal code article 112 on lese majeste (insulting the monarchy) charges for their onstage speeches during a September 19, 2020 political rally. Each accused faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted. The activists were also charged with sedition under penal code article 116, which carries a penalty of up to seven years in prison.

“To respond to persistent public protests, authorities are abusing Thailand’s draconian lese majeste law to aggressively clamp down on speech they don’t like,” said Brad Adams, Asia director. “Holding people in pretrial detention for peaceful expression portends a return to the dark days when people simply charged with this crime end up spending years in jail while their trials drag on interminably.”

Read the full article here.