Thailand : free Somyot, arbitrarily detained for 2,000 days

[Press Release]
Thai authorities must immediately and unconditionally release human rights defender Somyot Phrueksakasemsuk, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (an FIDH-OMCT partnership) reiterated today.

Having spent 2,000 days behind bars, Somyot, 55, is currently the longest-serving lèse-majesté detainee. Somyot remains incarcerated in Bangkok Remand Prison, where he is serving a 10-year sentence following his conviction on charges of lèse-majesté under Article 112 of Thailand’s Criminal Code. Article 112 states that “whoever defames, insults or threatens the King, the Queen, the Heir to the throne or the Regent shall be punished with imprisonment of three to 15 years.” Somyot is also serving an additional year in prison as a result of an earlier sentence for defamation in connection with another case.

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