The Freedom Bridge project was officially launched yesterday (26 September) to provide support for Thai political prisoners and their families which face related economic and psychological impacts.

The launch event at the Foreign Corespondents' Club of Thailand (Photo by Chanakarn Laosarakham)

Pathomporn Kaewnoo, a representative of the project, said that in assisting political prisoners and their families, she learned about the poor quality of prison life. As for prisoners’ families, many lost their breadwinners and now face economic problems and have to deal with restrictive prison visitation rules.

52 people are in prison on charges relating to political expression. 42 were detained on charges stemming from the 2020 protests. The remaining 10 were detained earlier, under the military’s National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) regime. Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reports that the public prosecutor has yet to rule whether to indict defendants in some 57 cases.  Another 98 cases are now in court waiting a verdict. According to Pathomporn, the indicted are likely to be denied bail and courts are likely to find many of them guilty.

She believes that without an amnesty bill, the number of political prisoners is likely to increase, making it probable that current volunteer assistance efforts will be unable to accommodate the rising numbers. She said she used to work with a group of volunteers that provided essential goods for prisoners. They were unable to reach everyone, in part because different prisons have different rules about purchasing goods for detainees. In some, anyone can make purchases, but in others, only people on a detainee’s 10-person visitors list could do so. Volunteers asking to be added to the list could also be denied if prison management questioned their relationship with the detainee.

Some people also found themselves unexpectedly detained after being denied bail, Pathomporn said. Some are the principal caregivers for aging parents and young children, and some are detained at a prison in Bangkok when their families are in other provinces. This means that the families of detainees also need support, from money for childcare to assistance in seeking medical care.

The Freedom Bridge project aims to provide financial support for political prisoners and their families by purchasing food, water, and essential supplies. It also aims to provide their families with financial assistance for things like school tuition. The hope is to alleviate the suffering of families that have lost breadwinners to political imprisonment.

The project will raise funds through an account under the Right to Justice Foundation. Pathomporn said that a temporary account was previously set up in the name of human rights lawyer Anon Nampa, now detained on several royal defamation charges. The account was run by Anon’s family members, who act as intermediaries. The plan now is to create a more systematic, comprehensive, and sustainable mechanism for raising funds and delivering support. Pathomporn hopes this will make people more comfortable donating to the fund.

The project’s second mission is to document the living conditions of political prisoners, both to ensure that the assistance provided meets the needs of those affected and to advocate for political prisoners’ rights.