bangkok, thailand – Netiporn “Bung” Sanesangkhom was known by his friends and family as courageous, outspoken and fierce. At just 28 years old, she was a formidable force within Thailand’s pro-democracy movement, defiantly facing legal and physical risks as she and her friends called for royal reform.
Netiporn, who wore her signature all-black clothing during street demonstrations, did not fear the authorities. She often challenged authorities’ near-constant surveillance and glared at police at protests and other public events. Always speaking her mind, she had a powerful voice that carried far and touched crowds at rallies.
“Let’s reform the judicial process,” Netiporno said at an event last year. He said: “No one should be imprisoned for political differences.”
But on April 14, Netiporno died of cardiac arrest while in custody awaiting trial. She has been in jail since January 26, when, among a number of other charges, she was charged with defamation of the royal family, also known as lese majeste, for conducting a poll on the Thai royal motorcade.
He continued to protest even after being detained. She had been on her hunger strike for more than 110 days, protesting against her bail conditions faced by pro-democracy protesters.
“What did Bun do? Nothing. She just wanted democracy and reform of the justice system,” said Emily Paramy Pradichit, founder and executive director of the Manusha Foundation, a human rights organization based in Thailand. he told Al Jazeera.
Emily and Nitiporno were friends and often worked together.
“A young man who wanted democracy and justice died,” Emily said. “She died because she represented the people and fought for a better Thailand, ending dictatorship and absolute monarchy. I hope this is a wake-up call for the dinosaur generation, the system and the nation.”
“Broken judicial system”
Netiporno was a key member of the anti-monarchy underground organization Salwan. The group, whose name means “shatter the palace,” is made up of mostly young people in their 20s who use performance art, provocative stunts, and other tactics to question the king’s immense power. . Power.
Netiporn, one of many critics of the monarchy under legal pressure in Thailand since protests erupted in 2020, has called on the government to release activists who have been held in pre-trial detention for more than a year. I was looking for it.
“Netiporn’s tragic death in custody shows how brutal the punishment for defaming the royal family is in Thailand,” Sunai Fask, senior Thailand researcher at Human Rights Watch, told Al Jazeera.
” [28-year-old] Activists sacrificed their lives on a hunger strike to advocate for political prisoners’ right to bail and that those who express dissent, including criticism of the monarchy, should not be punished. ”
Sunai pointed out that in modern Thailand, the basic freedoms and human rights of those who dissent from the monarchy have not improved at all, and even nine months after Prime Minister Sureta Thavasin took office, “Thailand remains as repressive as it was under military rule.”
At least 270 Thai activists have been charged with defaming the royal family since 2020. Rights groups say critics of the royal family risk months in pre-trial detention without bail and decades in prison if convicted of defaming the royal family. .
According to legal group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR), more than 2,000 people have been charged with a variety of other crimes, including sedition and “cybercrime”, for their involvement in anti-government protests since 2020.
“Mr. Nettiporn’s death is evidence that the problem of political prosecution and detention of democratic activists, especially in the case of lese majeste, remains strong even under the Thai-led government,” said Akara Chai, head of advocacy at TLHR.・Mr. Chaimani Karakate said. said in a statement.
“Her death also highlights the importance of the National Amnesty Bill currently before Parliament. The right to bail is granted to political detainees who are not found guilty of any crime in their final judgment. There must be.”
Akarachai pointed out that Netiporn died while Thailand was running for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council, which was not ironic to Thai observers.
Along with pro-democracy protesters and other activists, Thailand’s opposition politicians are calling on the government to fix a “broken judicial system” that allows activists like Netiporn to languish for months in pre-trial detention. There is.
“What happened to Mr. Bun is a reminder that we need to change our justice system,” Ransiman Roma, a member of Thailand’s parliament and deputy secretary-general of the opposition Progressive Party, told Al Jazeera. “No one should have to go through a situation like this.”
Runciman, himself a former pro-democracy leader, added that the presumption of innocence is enshrined in Thailand’s constitution and that those awaiting trial must be treated according to the law. He said the Forward Party was awaiting the results of Nettiporn’s autopsy and hoped a thorough investigation into her death would be conducted.
“Thai people’s confidence in our judicial system is at an all-time low,” Runciman said. “Our government should have a serious conversation with the judiciary and make the necessary changes to resolve this crisis.”
