<div> <div>A public prosecutor has dismissed charges against 14 villagers in Phayao who were prosecuted for violating the NCPO’s ban on public protests. Before the case was dropped, the villagers faced repeated intimidation by the local authorities.</div> <div> </div> <div>Thai Lawyers for Human Rights reported on 8 June that in late May a public prosecutor in Phayao Province decided not to indict 14 supporters of the civil rights march We Walk. The police have asked them to sign a document to this effect at Phu Sang Police Station. </div></div>

<div> <div>Citing an order from the military, a private university in Chiang Mai has called off a public seminar on the role of student movements in Thai politics.</div> <div> </div> <div>On 23 April 2018, Yamaruddin Songsiri, an anti-junta student activist, posted on Facebook that the military had ordered Phayao University to cancel the seminar on “the role of students in the country’s development.”</div> <div> </div> <div>The seminar, scheduled for 27 April, was planned by students of Phayao University’s School of Political and Social Science. </div></div>

<div> <div>A co-founder of Thai Human Rights for Lawyers (TLHR) has received an International Women of Courage award by the US government for her efforts to provide legal assistance for those prosecuted by the ruling junta. </div> <div> </div> <div>On 21 March 2018, the US Department of State announced that Sirikan ‘June’ Charoensiri, a TLHR lawyer, was among the 10 awardees of this year’s International Women of Courage (IWC). </div> <div> </div> <div>The US states that Sirikan was a co-founder of TLHR which has provided “pro-bono legal services in human rights cases and has doc </div></div>

<div> <div>A court in Kamphaeng Phet has dismissed royal defamation charges against two suspects accused of making false claims about Princess Sirindhorn in an alleged scam. </div></div>

<div> <div>The Military Court in Khon Kaen has begun trying two members of Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) merely for observing a public seminar that discussed the junta’s constitution. </div></div>

<div> <div>Amid calls for more political freedom ahead of next year’s election, a group of human rights defenders has urged the authorities to terminate the ban on public assembly.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On 19 December, representatives from various civil society organisations submitted a petition to the Constitutional Court, calling for the termination of the Head of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) Order 3/2015.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>According to Article 6 of the order, military officers have the power to summon any individual and detain them for up to seven days withou </div></div>

<div> <div>The authorities have repeatedly denied access to a legal document which deals with the question of whether Princess Sirindhorn was an heir apparent to the throne of King Bhumibol, saying that the document could damage the monarchy if published.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On 12 December 2017, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR)&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="http://www.tlhr2014.com/th/?p=5810">reported</a> that the Office of the Council of State&nbsp;(OCS) had denied their lawye </div></div>

<p>Five teenagers and one adult facing royal defamation charges for burning royal arches in northeastern Thailand have pleaded guilty.</p> <p>On 20 November 2017, the Provincial Court of Phon District in Khon Kaen Province held a preliminary hearing for six suspects indicted for violating Article 112 of the Criminal Code, the lèse majesté law, criminal association, and destruction of public property, according to<a href="http://www.tlhr2014.com/th/?p=5713"> Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR)</a>.</p>

<p>Three elderly red shirts face seven years’ imprisonment for allegedly putting up banners calling for the separation of the northern region from Thailand. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>On 30 October 2017, Chiang Rai Provincial Court held the preliminary hearing for Ot Suktako, 66, who was indicted under Article 116 of the Criminal Code, the sedition law, according to&nbsp;<a href="http://www.tlhr2014.com/th/?p=5576">Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR)</a>.</p>