<p>Prachatai spoke to Srisamorn Soffer, primary school teacher and children&rsquo;s book writer, who started the &ldquo;Dream of Hope Tales&rdquo; project and who wrote most of the poems in the series, about how the project began, the importance of the stories, and young people&rsquo;s freedom to read.</p>

<p>The royal defamation law reflects Thai society and is needed to protect the monarchy and national security, said Minister of Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary Thani Thongphakdi at the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) session on Wednesday (10 November).</p>

<p>The Civil Court said on Tuesday (9 November) that it will issue a ruling on 30 November in a lawsuit filed against historian Nattapol Chaiching and his publisher, Same Sky Books for producing two books based on Nattapol&rsquo;s PhD thesis about Thai politics during the Cold War period.</p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:black">The online petition to repeal the royal defamation law, or Section 112 of the Thai Criminal Code, has received over 100,000 signatures within 24 hours of its launch.</span></span></span></p>

<p>The Chiang Mai Administrative Court ruled in favour of students from the Media Arts and Design Department, Faculty of Fine Arts, Chiang Mai University, who <a href="https://prachatai.com/english/node/9505">filed for a temporary injunction</a> on 18 October after the University administration prohibited them from showing their final theses in the University Art Centre because some pieces dealt with social and political themes.</p>

<p>Student activists Benja Apan and Nutchanon Pairoj have been sentenced to jail on contempt of court charges stemming from <a href="https://prachatai.com/english/node/9213">a protest at the Ratchadapisek Criminal Court on 29 April 2021</a> to demand the release of detained activists.</p>

<p>On Monday, 1 November, student activist Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul and representatives from <a href="https://www.amnesty.or.th/en/latest/news/965/">Amnesty International Thailand</a> submitted a petition to the prime minister to demand the release of detained activists and an end to the prosecution of protesters.</p>

<p>The public prosecutor has decided to indict Noppasin Treelayapewat, 16, who was charged with royal defamation for participating in a &ldquo;fashion show&rdquo; during a pro-democracy protest on Silom Road on 29 October 2020.</p>

<p>Activists and people affected by the royal defamation law, or Section 112 of the Thai Criminal Code, went to parliament yesterday (27 October) to submit a petition to the House Committee on Legal Affairs, Justice, and Human Rights for the repeal of Section 112.</p>

<p>Chiang Mai University students petitioned the Chiang Mai University Council, the House Committee on Legal Affairs, Justice, and Human Rights, and the House Committee on Education to have university principle Dr Niwet Nantajit and Faculty of Fine Arts dean Asawinee Wanjing removed from office, after faculty and university administration prohibited students from exhibiting their theses in the University Art Centre as some pieces deal with social and political themes.</p>

<p>Two Burapha University students have been charged with royal defamation for hanging a banner containing a message about the monarchy from their dorm room balcony.</p>

<p>Student activist Benja Apan has been denied bail for a third time yesterday (21 October), after she was arrested on 7 October 2021 on a lèse majesté charge in connection with&nbsp;<a href="https://prachatai.com/english/node/9393">the 10 August 2021 protest</a>.</p>