<p>After a failed attempt a decade ago to amend or abolish the section of the Criminal Code that punishes people for defaming, insulting or threatening members of the monarchy, new calls have emerged questioning the monarch&rsquo;s role in Thai democracy and have faced legal harassment.</p>

<p>Kantapat (surname withheld), a 17 year old student activist, was summoned to the Nong Ki police station in Buriram Province on 3 January to sign a paper affirming that he would not interfere with an upcoming royal procession of Princess Sirindhorn on 5 January.</p>

<p>Three activists, one a 17 year old, were arrested on Tuesday night (28 December) for holding up banners with the message &ldquo;abolish Section 112&rdquo; at Wongwian Yai, where a crowd of people were waiting to see King Vajiralongkorn and his entourage.</p>

<p>Thai authorities should immediately release lèse-majesté detainee Anchan Preelerd, the United Nations (UN) Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) urged.</p>

<p>Activists and protesters gathered in front of the Bangkok Remand Prison on Sunday evening (26 December) to celebrate student activist Panupong Jadnok&rsquo;s birthday, after he was denied bail along with 3 other activists last Friday (24 December).</p>

<p>A Facebook user from Phitsanulok was arrested on Thursday (2 December) on a royal defamation charge, after she posted a picture of King Vajiralongkorn changing the seasonal decoration of the Emerald Buddha, edited so that the Buddha is wearing a dress.</p>

<p>Student activist Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul has been granted bail to allow her to complete class projects and take her final examinations, after spending 17 days in detention.</p>

<p>The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has warned the media against reporting on calls for monarchy reform after the Constitutional Court ruled that such messages are treasonous.</p>

<p>A student at Prince of Songkla University&rsquo;s Hat Yai campus has been arrested on a royal defamation charge while receiving a Covid-19 vaccine at the university&rsquo;s vaccination centre.</p>

<p>Yesterday (22 November), the Criminal Court revoked bail for student activist Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul on charges arising from her participation in the <a href="https://prachatai.com/english/node/8820">19 &ndash; 20 September 2020 protest</a>.</p>

<p>A flashmob took place in front of the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC) on Saturday (20 November) to demand the right to bail for activists detained pending trial on charges related to participation in pro-democracy protests.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Student activist Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul has been denied bail on a royal defamation charge relating to a protest on 20 December 2020, in which activists wore crop tops at Siam Paragon shopping mall to campaign for the repeal of the royal defamation law.</p>