Parliament has dismissed an amnesty bill for political crimes that was proposed by the People’s Party and the Network for People’s Amnesty.

Parliament voted 149 for and 306 against the amnesty bill proposed by the Network for People’s Amnesty, a network of civil society organizations and activist groups. 20 members abstained from voting. Backed by 36,732 voters and often referred to as the “People’s Amnesty” bill, it is the only bill to explicitly propose amnesty for people charged with royal defamation.

The People’s Party version of the bill received 147 votes for and 319 votes against, with 6 abstentions. Proposed by MPs from its predecessor, the now-dissolved Move Forward Party, the bill does not specify which offences should be eligible for amnesty. Instead, it proposes that all cases be subjected to review by a committee.

Meanwhile, parliament voted to pass in the first reading the remaining three bills proposed by the United Thai Nation Party, the Bhumjaithai Party, and a Thai Teachers for the Peoples Party MP who has since joined the Klatham Party. A 32-person ad hoc committee has been formed to work on the bills before a combined version is returned to parliament for the second reading.

All three of the approved bills explicitly state that people charged with royal defamation are not eligible for amnesty but they do include amnesty for overthrowing the government under Section 113 of the Criminal Code and terrorism under Section 135 of the Criminal Code. Bhumjaithai Party’s bill, in particular, states in in the bill’s principles and rationale that no amnesty would be granted for royal defamation.

The Network for People’s Amnesty issued a statement following the vote demanding that an amnesty bill must cover everyone and must not discriminate based on political opinion. Otherwise, it would not be possible to build a peaceful society because the process of granting amnesty would help only certain groups of people. The statement also said that there is still hope that political prisoners detained on royal defamation charges will be released and have their charges dropped, but it will take more time. The Network asks that supporters continue to stand by the detainees and their families, and when the next election arrives, people should vote for a party that backs amnesty for all political cases.

TLHR, who has been providing pro bono legal assistance for people facing political prosecution since the 2014 military coup and is a member of the Network, issued a statement raising concerns that using the United Thai Nation’s version of the bill as the main version might mean that charges filed since 2023 onwards will be excluded. At least 23 charges used to prosecute protesters and activists are also not listed in the bill, which means that a large number of people may not be eligible for amnesty. TLHR believes that an amnesty bill must cover every conflict.

TLHR noted that the number of people charged with royal defamation has been rising since 2006. At least 281 people have been charged with royal defamation since 2020. At least 37 people went into political exile since 2020 because they were charged with royal defamation. Although the number of people facing the royal defamation charge is only in the hundreds, TLHR said, the charges often result in imprisonment, and to refuse to grant them amnesty would mean leaving behind one of the worst-affected groups of people.

50 political prisoners remain in detention, of whom 31 are detained for royal defamation., and 16 for being in possession of explosives and for being involved in the 2010 Red Shirt protests and the 2021 Din Daeng Intersection protests. If the list of charges eligible for amnesty has not been changed by the time the bill returns to parliament for its second reading, TLHR speculated that only 4 of the current detainees would be eligible, not to mention those who might be detained in the future.

TLHR also noted that, of the 1977 people charged for political expression since July 2020, 286 were minors. As a state party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Thailand is obligated to protect children and young people’s freedoms of expression and assembly, but it is neglecting children facing political prosecution by refusing to grant them amnesty. Instead, people charged for overthrowing the government and officials who took part in military coups are given precedence.

TLHR insisted that if Parliament wants to resolve political conflicts, it must not be selective when granting amnesty. Not only would granting amnesty for royal defamation reduce tension, Thailand would also be acting in line with human rights principles and international standards.

It also proposed that while the bill is still being considered, the government could show that it is serious about resolving political prosecutions by coordinating the release of political prisoners. Of the 50 detainees, 25 are held pending trial or appeal and could be immediately granted bail without needing to amend any law.

The government could also discuss with the Office of the Attorney General cases where pursuing the charges is not in the public interest, particularly cases relating to protests since 2020. The public prosecutors could dismiss these charges under the Public Prosecution Institution and Public Prosecutors Act. No legislative action would be needed.

Discriminating and granting amnesty to only selected charges would not resolve conflict, said the statement, but would widen the divisions in society and worsen the problem.