On 30 April 2026, the Phnom Penh Court of Appeal upheld the politically motivated conviction of the Cambodian political opposition leader Kem Sokha, Human Rights Watch said today (30 April). The court extended Sokha’s de-facto house arrest and 27-year sentence that had been imposed in March 2023 and added an additional five-year ban on international travel. Cambodian authorities should immediately quash the conviction and release Sokha from custody.

Thai authorities should urgently, thoroughly, and impartially investigate the assassination attempt on Kamonsak Leewamoh, a Muslim member of parliament and prominent human rights lawyer, Human Rights Watch said on 10 April.

After Suchart Chomklin, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, brought criminal defamation lawsuits against two journalists who reported about a bribery case, Human Rights Watch calls for a stronger anti-SLAPP protections, noting that the apparent aim of such lawsuits is intimidation and that they undermine freedom of expression.

The Thai authorities should immediately release Le Chi Thanh, a prominent Vietnamese anti-corruption activist, and ensure that he is not forcibly returned to Vietnam, Human Rights Watch said today (12 March)

The new Thai government of Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has done little to improve respect for human rights in the country, Human Rights Watch said on 4 February in its World Report 2026.

Cambodian authorities have arbitrarily arrested and charged at least 16 people for expressing their views on social media about the Thai-Cambodia border conflict in July and August 2025, Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday (5 November).

Myanmar’s military junta should allow immediate unfettered access to humanitarian aid for earthquake survivors and lift restrictions that impede the emergency response, Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday (1 April). Since the earthquake struck at 12:50 p.m. on March 28, 2025, the military has carried out airstrikes and limited internet access in severely affected areas, further complicating the humanitarian response.

The Thai Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for a former Thai marine suspected of shooting and killing Lim Kimya, a former Cambodian opposition MP, in Bangkok yesterday.

Human Rights Watch demands that Cambodian authorities immediately drop charges against six Cambodian political opposition activists forcibly returned from Thailand on 25 November 2024, along with the 5-year-old grandson of one activist.

After a group of Rohingya refugees were found dead and injured in Thailand's Chumphon province last week, Human Rights Watch demanded that the Thai authorities conduct effective investigations into how this happened and provide survivors with medical care, asylum screening, and assistance.

As Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra will soon be taking office, Human Rights Watch calls on the new government to make human rights a priority, including by ending torture and enforced disappearance.

Human Rights Watch has called on the Thai government to release Y Quynh Bdap, a Montagnard religious freedom activist and refugee, and ensure that he will not be sent back to Vietnam, where he faces a risk of an unfair trial and ill-treatment by Vietnamese authorities.