A court in Bangkok has refused to allow a Thai student charged with royal defamation to leave the country to study for a master’s degree in Germany on an Erasmus scholarship.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) said on Wednesday (19 July) that the South Bangkok Criminal Court denied a request made by Suthini (last name withheld) to leave Thailand for 2 years on the ground that remaining in country was a condition imposed on her when she was granted bail out of the concern that granting her temporary release would obstruct her trial. It ruled that the length of her overseas stay is too long and could affect hearing dates.

Suthini was charged with royal defamation and sedition for participation in the 26 October 2020 protest, where protesters marched to the German Embassy in Bangkok to submit a petition calling for the German authorities to investigate King Vajiralongkorn’s use of power during his time in Germany. She was charged along with several other protesters for reading a statement to the crowd after they arrive at the Embassy.

According to TLHR, her earlier requests to leave the country were always approved and she never tried to flee. In 2022, the Court allowed her to travel to Germany to attend a one-month language course on a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) on the condition that 2 people be appointed her guardians, one in Thailand and one in Germany.

This is not the first time the South Bangkok Criminal Court has denied a travel request made by a defendant in the embassy protest case. Ravisara Eksgool, who was also charged with royal defamation for reading a statement at the protest, filed a request with the Court to leave the country to travel to Germany to study for a master's degree after receiving a DAAD scholarship. Her request was denied 7 times before she was finally granted permission to travel on the condition that she not attend protests that damage the monarchy either in Thailand or Germany.  She was also ordered to keep the Court informed of her academic progress every semester.