The writers group PEN International has launched a global campaign for the release of two student activists jailed for lese majeste over the play The Wolf Bride.
London-based PEN, which counts among its past presidents HG Wells and Arthur Miller, said Patiwat Saraiyaem, 23, and Pornthip Munkong, 26, are being held for the "peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of expression".
PEN's statement says their imprisonment is a violation of Articles 9 and 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Thailand is a state party. The group is urging its members in 100 countries to send appeals to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha asking for the pair's release. It says it has "serious concerns" for the safety of writers, academics and activists in Thailand who are at risk of imprisonment "solely for the peaceful expression of their opinions".
The Criminal Court on Monday sentenced Patiwat and Pornthip to five years in jail for lese majeste but reduced the term by half after they pleaded guilty.
The play about a fictional monarch was performed on Oct 13, 2013, on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the Oct 14, 1973, student uprising at Thammasat University.
Bangkok Post Sunday contacted the Thai Writers Association and PEN's local office, neither of which gave any comment, saying the request had to be passed on and dealt with by their chairpeople. Ida Arunwong, editor of Aan Publishing, said both organisations should release a statement supporting freedom of expression for writers, poets and playwrights.
She said PEN Thailand had an obligation to speak out as one of its former chairpersons, author Suwat Woradilok, faced a five-year jail sentence from 1958 to 1962. He was charged with violating Article 112, the lese majeste law, during the tenure of Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat.
"PEN International is an organisation that has a forward stance on freedom of artistic expression; something that I feel PEN Thailand lags behind on. I strongly feel that the organisation must express its opinion on the students’ verdicts," she said.