Photos: Ginger Cat

Ahead of today’s parliamentary debate on the amnesty bill for people facing political charges, the civil society Network for People’s Amnesty filed a petition to three political parties demanding that charges of royal defamation under Section 112 of the Criminal Code and harming the Queen or her liberty under Section 110 be included in the bill.

In a statement, the Network calls on the Pheu Thai, Bhumjaithai, and People’s parties to approve amendments made by a minority in the drafting committee to include Sections 110 and 112 in the amnesty bill, so that the bill would include all groups of protesters and activists without discriminating based on political beliefs.

The bill was returned to parliament from the ad hoc drafting committee which combined three versions of an amnesty bill 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.

Two other bills were proposed, one by the Network for People’s Amnesty and another by the People’s Party, but were dismissed in the first reading.

The royal defamation law has remained the most contentious issue in the debate as several parties maintain that royal defamation defendants should not be granted amnesty. Debate is now ongoing as parliament votes on the second reading.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) said that if the bill does not include Sections 112 and 110 cases, the majority of political prisoners currently detained will not be granted amnesty.

30 people are now detained on a royal defamation charge, while 5 are detained for harming the Queen or her liberty. Meanwhile, at least 176 royal defamation cases are still ongoing. TLHR also noted that most of the political exiles who left after 2020 were charged with royal defamation.