Student activist Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul, who has been detained pending trial on a royal defamation charge, has been granted bail, while Siraphop Phumphuengphut, another student activist, has been denied bail and detained pending trial.

Sureerat Chiwarak, mother of detained student activist Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak, shaved her head yesterday (30 April) to protest against the court’s decision to repeatedly deny bail for her son, whose health is reported to be rapidly declining after being on a hunger strike for the past 46 days.

Student activist Wanwalee Thammasattaya has been detained pending trial on a royal defamation charge relating to a protest on 6 December 2020

PEN International issued a statement on Tuesday (20 April) raising concerns about the Thai authorities' use of the royal defamation law against critics of the monarchy and call for the repeal of Section 112 and for all charges against the protesters to be immediately dropped. 

A man who has been on hunger strike in front of the Criminal Court for the past three days to demand the release of detained activists has been arrested on charges under the lèse majesté law and the Computer Crimes Act.