A young Thai activist who went on a hunger strike after being imprisoned for supporting reform of the country’s monarchy system died Tuesday in a jail hospital, officials said.
Netiporn Sanesangkhom, 28, was a member of the activist group Thaluwang, known for its daring and aggressive campaigns demanding reform of the monarchy and the abolition of the law prohibiting defamation of members of the royal family. The group’s name loosely translates to “breaking through the palace,” a reference to its open criticism of Thailand’s monarchy.
She appears to be the primary political activist in Thailand to die after occurring a hunger strike.
Until recent years, the royal institution was widely considered untouchable, a fundamental element of Thai nationalism. Criticism of the monarchy was taboo, and insulting or defaming key members of the royal family was punishable by as much as 15 years in prison under the lèse-majesté law, normally known as Art. 112 of the Thai Penal Code.
Student-led pro-democracy protests that began in 2020 openly criticized the monarchy, resulting in vigorous prosecutions under a law that had previously been relatively rarely used. Critics say the law is usually used as a tool to suppress political dissent.
The protest movement has waned as a consequence of government harassment and the coronavirus pandemic, but Netiporn was considered one of greater than 270 activists charged under Thailand’s royal libel law because the 2020-2021 protests.
Early Tuesday morning, Netiporn suffered a cardiac arrest and medical teams spent several hours attempting to resuscitate her. She was pronounced dead just before noon, in response to a news release from the Department of Corrections.
According to the group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, it has two lese majeste charges pending against it, each related to conducting surveys in public spaces in 2022 asking about opinions in regards to the royal family. Her bail was revoked in January due to her participation in a political rally last yr.
Netiporn went on a hunger strike after being detained in January. The Department of Corrections said she began eating and drinking water again after April 4. However, the most recent update on her condition, published on April 25 by a gaggle of human rights lawyers, shows that she continues to be fasting.
Two other imprisoned activists are also on hunger strikes. Both are Thaluwang activists for monarchy reform, charged with lese majeste, and went on hunger strike a few month after Netiporn.
Netiporn’s lawyers filed a request to have her transferred from the Central Prison Hospital to Thammasat University Hospital, but were never granted the choice to increase her stay there for treatment, her lawyer Kritsadang Nutcharas said.
“Does it seem like there is standard treatment in the Thai justice system if we compare what these children are going through with the political accusations and what some prominent adults have gone through?” Kritsadan said.
He was an apparent reference to former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who returned from exile last yr to serve time in corruption cases but never spent a single night in prison as a consequence of poor health.
Thaluwang held loud protests, calling not just for reform of the monarchy, but in addition for changes to the justice system and an end to political persecution through the courts. She also called for the rejection of Thailand’s application to affix the UN Human Rights Council.
Thailand announced its candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council for the 2025-2027 term after the present government took office last yr, in a bid to point out its commitment to protecting human rights.
Critics charge that the country’s law enforcement reality is starkly at odds with its ambitions to be recognized by the international community as a defender of human rights.
Human Rights Watch has expressed concerns in regards to the Thai government’s “use of arbitrary arrest and pre-trial detention to punish critics of the monarchy for his or her views,” which it says is a violation of their rights under international human rights law.
