On Saturday (25 October), activists and residents in Chiang Mai ran 3.5 kilometres through Chiang Mai University to demand the release of political prisoners and to protest Parliament’s refusal to include royal defamation defendants in the amnesty bill for political offences.

Around 100 people participated in the event. Dressed in black, they ran from Ang Kaew, an on-campus reservoir, to Ang Tat Chomphu, another reservoir located in front of the Faculty of Law, and back to the lawn near Ang Kaew, where a representative read out a statement and the names of 56 political prisoners still in detention.

The statement criticized Parliament’s decision to reject amendments to the amnesty bill which would have included royal defamation defendants, especially those charged as minors. The bill only benefits people who supported coups and closed airports during protests, said the statement, and leave behind dissidents and young people who want a better future.

A similar event took place in Bangkok on Thursday (23 October). Dressed all in black and wearing bibs with the pictures and names of political prisoners, as well as banners saying “free political prisoners”, runners took off on a 5-kilometre route from Chatuchak Park to the parliament complex to demand the release of political prisoners.

According to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR), 56 people are now detained on charges relating to political expression, 30 of them for royal defamation.