16 September 2025
Chief Justice Suchart Soontarikasem
Criminal Court
Bangkok, Thailand

Re: Unjust political persecution of Thai human rights defender and Sakharov fellow Ms. Pimsiri “Mook” Petchnamrob

Dear Chief Justice Soontarikasem,

We, the undersigned fellows of the European Parliament’s Sakharov Fellowship and laureate of the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, write to express our strong support for Thai human rights defender Ms. Pimsiri “Mook” Petchnamrob and to urge you to immediately and unconditionally drop all politically motivated charges against her—especially in the criminal Black Case No. Aor. 498/2567—and to end the broader judicial harassment of those who peacefully exercise their fundamental freedoms.

For the past decade, the Sakharov Fellowship has brought together up to 14 human rights defenders from non-European Union (EU) countries each year to deepen our knowledge of EU and international human rights mechanisms, strengthen advocacy skills, and sustain a global community committed to protecting fundamental freedoms. As Sakharov fellows, we aspire to act as multipliers promoting human rights around the world—especially the right to freedom of thought.

Ms. Pimsiri is a Sakharov fellow, a Thai human rights defender, and a pro-democracy activist with more than 15 years of experience advancing civil and political rights, including LGBTQ+ equality. She has contributed to Thai and regional pro-democracy movements, served in leadership roles within civil society, and participated in the Sakharov Fellowship in 2018. Despite mounting risks, she continues to engage in peaceful activism to expand civic space and protect fundamental freedoms in Thailand and the broader region.

We are gravely concerned that Ms. Pimsiri is on criminal trial in Black Case No. Aor. 498/2567, facing multiple charges—including Section 112 (lèse-majesté), a crime punishable by three to fifteen years’ imprisonment—for a peaceful speech she delivered at a pro-democracy rally in November 2020. Disturbingly, the Section 112 charge is linked, inter alia, to her quoting the UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression of Thailand in criticizing Thailand’s lèse-majesté law—a law that has been used to silence hundreds of political dissidents. For peacefully calling for democratic reforms, including reform of the Thai monarchy, Ms. Pimsiri now faces the prospect of 15 years’ imprisonment—a penalty equivalent to that for manslaughter under Thai law.

The Sakharov fellowship derives its name from Andrei Sakharov, a courageous nuclear physicist exiled by the Soviet regime for voicing his concerns about the proliferation of nuclear arms. Sakharov championed human rights and the freedom of thought, which he implored “needs the defense of all thinking and honest people.” For his unflinching moral courage, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975 and became the inspiration for the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, whose laureates include Nelson Mandela and Malala Yousafzai.

Ms. Pimsiri is an honest defender of the freedom of thought. As a Sakharov fellow, she has served as a “multiplier” by sharing her knowledge and supporting others in her field and beyond. Yet Thai authorities are preventing her from doing so. For example, from February to March 2023, as part of her bail conditions, the Criminal Court denied Ms. Pimsiri permission on several occasions to attend meetings at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

We call on the authorities to cease the prosecution and judicial harassment of Ms. Pimsiri Petchnamrob, and of all other Thai prisoners of thought currently behind bars for peacefully voicing dissenting opinions. In particular, we urge the judge in Black Case No. 498/2567 to acquit her of all charges. Freedom of thought and conscience are the fountain from which other fundamental freedoms spring; in their absence, truth is suppressed, debate withers, and democratic progress stalls. Whether it was Sakharov in 1980, Mandela in 1964, or Ms. Pimsiri in 2025, people with diverse thoughts on how citizens should live and how humanity should progress must not be silenced.

Sincerely,

Nurit Peled Elhanan, Israel (Sakharov Prize Laureate, 2001) 
Abdirova Alima, Kazakhstan (Fellow, 2016) 
Jeremy Steffan Edwards, Trinidad & Tobago (Fellow, 2016) 
Nicholas Opiyo, Uganda (Fellow, 2016) 
Antonietá Mendoza de Lopez, Spain (Fellow, 2017) 
Joseph Samuel Aoun, Lebanon (Fellow, 2018) 
Yasemin Öz, Türkiye (Fellow, 2018) 
Marharyta Tarasova, Ukraine (Fellow, 2021) 
Maryam Sama, Afghanistan (Fellow, 2023) 
Alexa Zamora, Nicaragua (Fellow, 2024) 
Cape Diamond, Myanmar (Fellow, 2024) 
Akarachai Chaimaneekarakate, Thailand (Fellow, 2025) 
María Gabriela Medina Graterol, Venezuela (Fellow, 2025) 
Tuğçe İnce, Türkiye (Fellow, 2025) 
Loveness Mudzuru, Zimbabwe (Fellow, 2025) 
Thouiba Hashim Galad, Sudan (Fellow, 2025) 
Abba Ali Yarima Mustapha, Nigeria (Fellow, 2025) 
Kush Tanvani, India (Fellow, 2025)