<div> <div>This year’s university initiation season has been inaugurated with the message that “touching someone else’s genitals can create love and unity.” Meanwhile, an anti-Islam monk has been disrobed for inciting violence against Muslims.</div> </div> <h2>Too much love at a Thai university</h2> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div> <div>The beginning of the university year in Thailand is marked by reports of physical, mental and sexual abuse against freshman students during initiation activities. </div></div>

<div> <div>The name Gen Anupong Paojinda turned up in various controversies last week. </div></div>

<p dir="ltr">“Today, the struggle is not over yet. This mother will struggle until the end...I believe that the perpetrators will not get away,” said Payao Akhad, mother of Kamolkate Akhad, a medic who was killed during the 2010 crackdown on red-shirt protesters. &nbsp;She spoke while lighting incense for her late daughter at Ratchaprasong intersection in central Bangkok on 31 August 2017.</p> <p></p>

<div>The judicialisation of politics, or judicial activism, refers to circumstances where the judicial branch becomes an active player in politics, interfering in the affairs of the executive or legislative branches. </div>

<p dir="ltr">On top of rising numbers of prosecutions under Thailand’s notorious lèse majesté law, the sedition law has also been used by the military regime to shut down critics since the 2014 coup d’état.</p>

<div> <div>After a trial lasting more than two years, former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra ultimately decided to flee the country before her Rice Pledging Scheme’s judgement day.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Her destination remains unconfirmed though the media have made various guesses including Singapore, Dubai and the UK. </div></div>

<p dir="ltr">On 25 August 2017, the Supreme Court will deliver its verdict on the historic case of former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who stands accused of causing billions of baht in losses through her administration’s controversial rice-pledging scheme (RPS). Prachatai has gathered 10 important facts about the historic case, which will set a standard for future public policy and almost certainly deepen political divisions regardless of the outcome.</p> <p></p>

<div> <div>While the court last week ruled on the first royal defamation case under Rama X, the case began against the youngest lèse majesté suspect ever. Another three crucial verdicts will be read on 25 August.</div> </div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4364/35877086234_96f10a69e2_o.jpg" style="width: 640px; height: 382px;" /></div> <h2>Last week prosecutions</h2> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div> <div>Two remarkable lèse majesté cases occurred during the past week. </div></div>

<div> <div>Over the past week, a teenage singer was slammed by nationalists after complaining about her country on Twitter. A lecturer put a student in a headlock for protesting a university ceremony. And various prosecution cases moved forward against human rights advocates and politicians.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Late last week, Thai social media heated up over <a href="http://www.prachatai.org/english/node/7308">tweets from a pop singer</a> called ‘Image’ who had expressed her discontent at living in Thailand. </div></div>

<div>From the beginning, the trial of Yingluck Shinawatra over her rice pledging scheme has lacked a clear legal basis. What will be the legacy of prosecuting a politician, not for breaking the law, but simply for bad policy?&nbsp;</div> <p></p>

<div> <div>Three years after it staged a coup, Thailand’s junta is subjecting rural people to harassment and prosecution, but pleasing investors, according to local NGOs.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has been repeatedly criticised for its failure to solve economic problems and for the slide back to authoritarianism. </div></div>

<div> <div>The “most political” Thai studies conference was held last week, with calls for academic freedom in Thai society. The junta, however, responded by summoning three scholars.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Every three years, the International Conference on Thai Studies (ICTS) is held as a platform for scholars and researchers. This year, the 13th ICTS was hosted in Chiang Mai and 385 papers were presented between 15 and 18 July.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>But the 13th ICTS was also a symbolic protest against the ruling junta. </div></div>