Search Results for: thailand

Thailand’s Central Criminal Court of Corruption and Misconduct acquitted on Thursday four forestry officials charged with the murder of Indigenous rights activist Pholachi Rakchongcharoen. Thai officials indicted the four forestry officials, including former chief of Kaeng Krachan National Park Chaiwat Limlikitaksorn, with murder in August 2022 over suspicions that they killed Pholachi. Pholachi disappeared after [...]

In the nearly three years that have passed since Myanmar’s coup d’état, the global media has shifted its attention to other crises, from the sudden withdrawal of Western forces from Afghanistan to Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. But despite a lull in headlines, the turmoil that resulted from the coup remains life-altering for the generation [...]

The Thai Royal Gazette announced on Friday that Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn granted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra a royal pardon, reducing Thaksin’s eight-year prison sentence to one year. A royal pardon, which may be granted as an unconditional release or commutation of punishment at the discretion of Thailand’s king, is the act of forgiving [...]

The United Nations Human Rights Office said in a new report on Tuesday that criminal syndicates in Southeast Asia are forcing hundreds of thousands of individuals into online criminal activity, including operating fraudulent investment schemes and facilitating unlawful gambling.  While the scale of internet-based fraud in Southeast Asia is difficult to estimate, the report offers [...]

Former Prime Minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra returned to Thailand after fifteen years of exile on Tuesday. Following his arrival, Thaksin was escorted to Thailand’s Supreme Court and sentenced to eight years imprisonment for corruption. Prior to landing in Bangkok, Thaksin issued a statement via social media announcing his return to Thailand. He requested “permission [...]

Pita Limjaroenrat, a leading progressive candidate for Thai prime minister, failed on Thursday to obtain enough votes to secure the leadership position in Thai’s Parliament. During a joint parliamentary session, Pita fell short of the prime minister position by 52 votes, despite garnering overwhelming support in the May general election over the ruling military-backed government [...]

Deputy National Police Chief Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn told state news on Friday that four Thai individuals have been extradited to Malaysia and were charged with trafficking and smuggling individuals from Myanmar. This case and prosecution relate to the May 2015 discovery of human trafficking camps and mass graves found in 2017 in Wang Kelian [...]

The United Nations released the Global Trend Report 2022 on Wednesday which covers refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced and stateless people worldwide. 112.6 million people fall under the protection of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The number of forcibly displaced people is 108.4 million. Both figures are at their historic high since [...]

Thailand’s Election Commission is investigating Prime Ministerial frontrunner Pita Limjaroenrat over his alleged ownership of media company shares, AFP reported Monday. The commission will investigate whether Pita held media company shares while standing as a Thai House of Representatives candidate, which is against the law. Pita has downplayed the problem, claiming that the company, ITV, [...]

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention released a report alleging that Afghanistan, Lithuania, Morocco, Poland, Romania, Thailand, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the US all participated in human rights violations against Abd al-Rahim Hussein al-Nashiri, a man accused of assisting in the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000. Al-Nashiri is currently held in [...]