Thai authorities should drop charges and release a 15-year-old girl detained for alleged royal defamation, Human Rights Watch said on Friday.
Thanalop “Yok” Phalanchai was arrested on March 28, the same day that a 24-year-old man was caught spray-painting a “No 112” message on the wall of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok.
The number 112 refers to Section 112 of the Criminal Code, the lese-majeste law under which more than 200 people have been charged in the past three years.
Police said they had a warrant to arrest Thanalop, who was accused of insulting the monarchy during a rally in October 2022 in front of Bangkok City Hall. She was 14 at the time. Protesters at the event were calling for the release of political detainees and for the abolition of royal defamation prosecutions.
After her arrest on March 28, the girl was detained overnight at the Samran Rat police station and appeared the next day in juvenile and family court, where she refused to recognise the proceedings, sitting with her back to the judge. She was ordered into detention at the Ban Pranee Juvenile Vocational Training Center for Girls in Nakhon Pathom.
Under the Juvenile and Family Court Procedure Act, a minor must be released from detention if the prosecutor does not file charges or request a postponement within 30 days. In Thanalop’s case, the prosecution on Thursday of this week requested that she be detained for an additional 15 days and the court agreed.
The law allows for as many as four 15-day postponements in cases where the offence carries a prison sentence of more than five years, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR).
People convicted of lese-majeste can be sentenced to between 3 and 15 years in jail. Sentences for multiple offences can be compounded.
“Thai authorities should immediately release Thanalop and drop the unjust case against her for criticising the monarchy,” said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
“By arresting a 15-year-old girl, the Thai government is sending the spine-chilling message that even children aren’t safe from being harshly punished for expressing their opinions.”
The Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by Thailand, states that the arrest, detention, or imprisonment of a child “shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time”, Human Rights Watch notes.
According to data from TLHR to March 31 this year, 1,898 people have been prosecuted for political participation and expression since the beginning of the Free Youth pro-democracy protests in July 2020. At least 237 are facing lese-majeste charges and 130 have been charged with sedition.