<p>Tanawat Wongchai, one of the organisers of the &ldquo;Run Against Dictatorship&rdquo; in Bangkok, has been summoned by Bang Sue Police Station for organizing a public assembly without notifying the police according to the Public Assembly Act.</p>

<p>Authorities have been attempting to block spin-off Run Against Dictatorship events in at least three provinces, while the main Bangkok event has been forced to move from Thammasat University to Wachirabenchathat (Rot Fai) Park.</p>

<p>Amnesty International calls for an end to judicial harassment of the political opposition, human rights defenders and activists in Thailand, as authorities began new criminal proceedings against members of the Future Forward Party and activists because of their recent peaceful protests.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.hrw.org/thailand">Thai</a>&nbsp;authorities should immediately drop all politically motivated charges against opposition leaders and pro-democracy activists who held peaceful rallies in Bangkok and other Thai provinces, Human Rights Watch said today (18 December).&nbsp;</p>

<p>A participant in the flashmob on Saturday has faced online attacks and was fired from her job at the television channel MONO29 after the right-wing media site TNews posted her picture and profile on its Facebook page.</p>

<p>A new report by CIVICUS Monitor, a global research collaboration which rates and tracks respect for fundamental freedoms in 196 countries, shows that the assault on civil society and fundamental freedoms has persisted in Asia.</p>

<p>Manushya Foundation, CIVICUS and the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) call on the Government of Lao PDR to remove all unwarranted restrictions on civic space in the country ahead of its human rights review to be held at the United Nations (UN) in January-February 2020. The review will mark five years since UN member states made 33 recommendations to the Lao government that directly relate to barriers to open civic space. As of today, the government has partially implemented only three recommendations.</p>

<p>Prachatai speaks to Clément Nyaletsossi Voule, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association, on the importance of the freedom of association and assembly in democratic societies, restrictions on these rights, and the role of the internet in political participation.</p>

<div> <div>Three social events organised by anti-junta groups have been forced to cancel after the authorities repeatedly intimidated the owners of the venues.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>The three events are a new year party in Samut Songkhram, a friendly football match in Bangkok, and a folk music concert in Bangkok. </div></div>

<div>As the general election is scheduled less than one year from now, people are wondering whether the Thai junta will allow more freedom of association and assembly ahead of the election campaigns. We saw mixed signals last week. Meanwhile, a legal adviser to the junta has suggested ways to amend the election law, which may result in the postponement of the election.</div> <p></p>