Activist and human rights lawyer Anon Nampa has been granted bail by the South Bangkok Criminal Court and was released on Monday (28 February 2022), after spending almost 7 months in detention pending trial on several royal defamation charges relating to protests in 2020 – 2021.

Anon Nampa flashing the three-finger salute as he walks out of the prison entrance (Photo by Ginger Cat)

The Court required a security of 300,000 baht for 2 charges, and set the conditions that he must not participate in activities which damages the reputation of the monarchy or the court, obstruct court proceedings, or post “seditious” messages on social media or messages inviting people to join protests.

Anon is also required to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet and may not leave home between 19.00 – 6.00 without court permission, unless for a medical emergency. He is not allowed to leave the country and must report to the court every 30 days.

The Court granted Anon bail on a temporary basis, valid for a three-month period. At the end of his temporary release period, on 28 May 2022, he has to report to the court and will be detained at the Correctional Institute for Drug Addicts, unless he requests bail again. 

The Court said that the bail conditions, proposed by Anon and his lawyer, would be enough to control his behaviour and prevent him from causing further damage, and so it ruled to give him “the opportunity to follow for a period of time the conditions he proposed to the court.”

Anon's supporters flashing the three-finger salute as they greet him outside Bangkok Remand Prison

Anon was released from Bangkok Remand Prison on Monday evening (28 February 2022). Upon his release, he thanked his supporters for greeting him outside the prison gates. He also thanked prison officials for taking care of him and the Court for granting him bail.

He said that the young people’s movement has just begun, and that he will always support them. He thinks that fighting for their rights and freedoms has become the younger generation’s mission, and that the way they fight will be unexpected and unusual, which will lead to victory for all of society.

He also said he believes that there is still hope for change, and that society wants equality and dignity. He believes that young people in the movement will ultimately prove that they do what they do for the good of the country, no matter their methods. 

While he said that he respects the court’s conditions, he will also respect the people, and if they require him to speak, he will do so while keeping both the court and the movement in mind. He also said that he will continue to work as a lawyer, since a large number of people are currently facing charges for expressing their political views.

“I think that, in the end, liberty, equality and human diginity are the truth, and it is something that must happen. We cannot deny that the world evolves,” he said. “One day it will be proven what the truth is. We will slowly prove it.”

Anon’s release leaves five people in detention pending trial on charges relating to the 2020 – 2021 pro-democracy protests: Thawee Thiangwiset, a member of the activist group Thalufah, and four other people detained on charges relating to the September – October 2021 Din Daeng protests.