Activist and conscientious objector Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal has been indicted for draft evasion for protesting military conscription by refusing to participate in the draft in April 2024.

Netiwit wrote on Facebook he went to the Samut Prakan Provincial Court yesterday (22 May) after the public prosecutor formally indicted him on a draft evasion charge. He pleaded not guilty and was later granted bail without requiring cash security or bail conditions.

Netiwit wrote that conscientious objection to military service is internationally recognized as a human right, and that people should not be forced to participate in a system that promotes violence or goes against their beliefs.

“Thailand’s conscription system has enabled corruption, abuse, and unchecked military power for far too long. I am committed to contesting this case to uphold the rights of conscience and to help spark long-overdue change,” he wrote.

“I believe that by ending forced conscription and respecting individual conscience, Thai society can become freer, and the military more accountable.”

On 5 April 2024, Netiwit went to a military conscription centre in Samut Prakan, where he was supposed to take part in the draft. In protest at compulsory military conscription in Thailand, he read out a statement declaring that he will not be reporting for the draft. He said that military conscription is a violation of human rights and personal moral beliefs. It is outdated, ineffective, undermines democracy, and enforces a system of oppression, he said. He was later charged with draft evasion.

Netiwit is an education reform activist and has also worked with communities surrounding Chulalongkorn University facing eviction and rising rent prices. He has been vocal about his objection to compulsory military conscription, and on his 18^th birthday, he published a declaration saying that he is a conscientious objector and will not participate in military conscription, which he said is obsolete, and asking why supporters of peace and nonviolent action cannot reject conscription.

All Thai men over 21 years of age who have not completed reserve officer training are required by law to participate in the draft and join the military either voluntarily or by participating in a lottery, unless they do not meet physical and mental health standards. No exception is made for conscientious objectors.