<p>An escalation of symbolic actions by pro-democracy protesters took place after the repeated use of force against protesters by the police and legal charges against its leading figures. But when it comes to burning portraits of the King, the state uses the royal defamation law to handle the problem.</p>

<p>For a third year, Prachatai has opened all budget documents to add up all the expenses related to the monarchy that are scattered among various agencies.</p>

<p>Since 2017, King Rama X has issued at least 112 royal edicts appointing and demoting royal officials and the royal consort, bestowing royal decorations, appointing monks to the Sangha Supreme Council and expressing political views, which raises questions over accountability under the King Can Do No Wrong principle.</p>

<p>A newly-launched book documents the ongoing case of Somsak Chuenchit and his 12-year effort to bring the police officers who tortured his son by beating and suffocating&nbsp;him with plastic bags during an interrogation.</p>

<p>The approximately 4-metre-tall concrete monument located near the Lak Si roundabout disappeared without trace on 28 Dec 2018, even though it was situated in front of Bangkhen Police Station. However, no one has been able to answer &ndash; how did the monument disappear even when 5 months earlier it had been registered as a National Historic Site in the Royal Gazette?</p>

<p>Although barred from approaching Government House, the protesters dispersed by crowd control police on 18 July left behind a number of clear &lsquo;statements&rsquo; including a model guillotine, federalist graffiti, and demands for effective vaccines.</p>

<p>A new Draft Act on Operations of Not-for-profit Organizations is raising huge concerns among civil society a due to its extensive powers of surveillance and control of the finances of a wide range of associations. The broad scope of this law threatens almost any kind of association in Thailand.</p>

<p>Under the disease control measures announced on 27 June 2021, construction workers are not permitted&nbsp;to leave their camps after several Covid-19 clusters were found in them and are now left with very little assistance from the government.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The explosion and fire at a factory in the middle of a populated area near Suvarnabhumi International Airport proves the lack of vision and law enforcement in town planning and public safety.</p>

<p>Artist Wittawat Tongkeaw&#39;s latest solo exhibition &quot;The L/Royal Monument,&quot; launched on 24 June, tells stories of Thailand at a political crossroad and buried memories. Prachatai speaks to Wittawat about his work, the role of art in opening up spaces for discussing what is seen as taboo, and what it means to be political and an artist in this country.</p>

<p>Suicides have been a controversy since the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020. The significant rise in the number of cases warrants attention.</p>

<p>In a conversation with Prachatai, the President of the Blind Society Association of Thailand, who has just filed a second complaint of royal defamation against another blind person, insists that the monarchy can be criticized with proper language, reason and factual evidence. Despite sending a blind woman to jail in the past, he believes that the accused this time can adjust to prison life as it is &ldquo;the same as boarding school&rdquo;. &nbsp;</p>