Left without answers following the disappearance of her husband, human rights lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit, Angkhana Neelapaijit has not only spearheaded the search for him but also campaigned for the criminalization of enforced disappearance in Thailand. Today, 20 years later, Angkhana is a member of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. We speak to Angkhana 20 years after Somchai’s disappearance about her life since her husband went missing and her hope for Thailand after the enforcement of the new anti-torture and enforced disappearance law.

The South Bangkok Criminal Court has dismissed the criminal defamation lawsuit filed by the Lopburi-based chicken farm company Thammakaset against three human rights defenders for their postings on social media about alleged abuse of migrant workers at its farm.

Prosecutors in Thailand should immediately drop criminal defamation charges brought against three human rights defenders by Thammakaset Company for their support of other activists facing criminal charges, and the Thai government should repeal criminal defamation law and strengthen anti-SLAPP measures, said Human Rights Watch.

<p>On 12 September, South Bangkok Criminal Court accepted a defamation lawsuit filed by Thammakaset Co Ltd, the 39th of its kind, against Angkhana Neelapaijit, Puttanee Kangkun, and Thanaporn Saleephol over their tweets about labour rights violations at their farm.</p>

<p>Public prosecutors have filed formal charges against a group of officials who stand accused of murdering and concealing the body of a land rights activist back in 2014. Despite the move, civil rights advocates remain skeptical that justice will be served in the case.</p>

<p>Giving Sri Lanka&rsquo;s former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa temporary permission to stay in Thailand could lead to pressures from civil society to prosecute him for war crimes and to questions about how the Thai government has treated refugees who are much more in need of help, such as Rohingyas, Uyghurs and ethnic minorities crossing the Myanmar border, according to a former National Human Rights Commissioner.</p>

<p>A draft bill criminalising torture and enforced disappearance has passed the House of Representatives with 359 votes in favour, 1 abstention and 2 decided not to vote. The bill will now go to the senate for final consideration.</p>

<p>A <a href="https://prachatai.com/english/node/9616">draft bill</a> criminalising torture and enforced disappearance has completed a reconciliation process and now goes to a second reading in parliament expected on 23-25 February, according to the committee scrutinizing the bill.</p>

<p>On 12 October 2021, Surachai Trongngam,&nbsp;Theeraphan Phankhiri, and Sanya Chongdeeiad, members of a legal team representing Angkhana Neelapaijit and Anchana Heemmina, two women human rights defenders (WHRDs), attended a civil court hearing to settle issues and schedule witness testimony in a case filed against the Office of the Prime Minister and the Royal Thai Army for damages pursuant to the 1996 Act on the Liability for Wrongful Acts of Officials.</p>

<p>Thai authorities should drop the criminal defamation charges against woman human rights defender and former Thailand National Human Rights Commissioner Angkhana Neelapaijit and end the cases of judicial harassment by Thai chicken company <a href="https://prachatai.com/english/category/thammakaset-company">Thammakaset Company Limited</a>, said Fortify Rights.</p>

<p>The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of Thailand has released a&nbsp;statement&nbsp;demanding anti-government protesters to respect Thai law at the same time as they are being arrested and threatened by the Thai authorities. While the NHRC also calls for the government to follow international standards in managing assemblies, former commissioners released a more progressive statement calling for the end to harassment of the protesters.</p>