Thai singer and TV personality Suthipongse ‘Heart’ Thatphithakkul has been indicted on charges of royal defamation and violation of the Computer Crimes Act. The charges were filed against him for Facebook posts he wrote in 2020 criticising the government’s Covid-19 vaccine policy.

A 30-year-old man has been found guilty of royal defamation and given a suspended sentence of 1 year and 6 months for a post criticising Covid-19 vaccine production by the Siam Bioscience company.

A 30-year-old man has been indicted under the royal defamation law over his criticism of Siam Bioscience’s COVID-19 vaccine production in 2021, allegedly causing damage the highly respected monarchy.

Activist Sopon Surariddhidhamrong has been indicted on a royal defamation charge for a speech given during a Labour Day protest on 1 May 2022 about access to Covid-19 vaccines, after the public prosecutor ruled that he insulted Princess Sirivannavari, who the public prosecutor sees as the heir to the throne.

<p>Siripan Nogsuan Sawasdee, Chulalongkorn&nbsp;University&#39;s professor of political science, portrays an insightful outlook of how Thailand responded to Covid-19 from day one in parallel with many various pretexts and dimensions across the globe.</p>

<p>Political leaders and corporate titans put profit and power ahead of people, betraying promises for fair recovery from pandemic, stated in the annual report of Amnesty International.</p>

<p>A protest on Saturday (7 August) against the government&rsquo;s mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic was met with water cannon trucks and crowd control police armed with rubber bullets and tear gas, despite the target location being switched.</p>

<p>As Thailand battles its deadliest outbreak of Covid-19 since the pandemic began, Amnesty International calls on the Thai authorities to develop and implement an inclusive vaccine roll-out plan that prioritizes at-risk and marginalized individuals, with specific consideration given to groups that have faced historic discrimination, such as prisoners, refugees and undocumented migrant workers.</p>

<p>Three reporters were injured during the protest on Sunday (18 July), after being hit with rubber bullets, despite wearing visible press armbands and ID cards.</p>

<p>Activist Shinawat Chankrajang and another protester were arrested in front of the Ministry of Public Health on Friday (16 July) during a protest over the Covid-19 vaccination programme, while two other protesters and one police officer were injured.</p>

<p>U Aung Thien, 43, a hired boatman from Dawei, died in Bangkok&rsquo;s Wat Phai Tan community on 28 June. The cause of death is still under examination, amid concern in this multinational community over the lack of medical assistance, Covid-19 testing and state relief which they have not been able to access.</p>

<p>As vaccinations around the country lag behind targets, questions are being asked about queue-jumping in Nakhon Ratchasima, Bangkok and Samut Prakan.</p>