May 19, 2023
SINGAPORE – A 15-year-old girl who spent 50 days in juvenile detention for allegedly insulting Thailand’s monarchy was released on Thursday.
Thanalop “Yok” Phalanchai walked out of the Ban Pranee Juvenile Vocational Training Centre for Girls in Nakhon Pathom city, in central Thailand, after a court refused, as police had asked, to extend her detention, the Bangkok Post reported.
Thanalop was arrested on March 28 for allegedly violating Thailand’s lese-majeste law when she criticised the Thai monarchy during a rally in front of Bangkok city hall in October 2022.
Protesters at the rally called for the release of political detainees and for the abolition of royal defamation prosecutions.
“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,” Ms Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said earlier, as her group pushed to get Thanalop released.
Thanalop had been detained the longest among 19 others who are 18 years old and younger whom police had charged under Section 112 of Thailand’s Criminal Code, the lese majeste law, reported the Bangkok Post, citing the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) organisation.
She was not the youngest to be held, though. A 14-year-old girl from Phitsanulok city, north of Bangkok, was arrested and released on bail this week.
The lese majeste law has been increasingly enforced ever since the Thai military took power in 2014 in a coup, and many people have been punished with harsh jail sentences.
Critics say the military-backed government uses the law to clamp down on free speech, and the United Nations has repeatedly called on Thailand to amend it.
But the government says the law is necessary to protect the monarchy, which is widely revered in Thailand.
The TLHR has reported that at least 242 government critics have been charged for violating the lese majeste law during political protests since 2020.