Search Results for: thailand

Nepal is a least developed, land-locked Himalayan country wedged between India and China. After a long period of instability, it adopted a new constitution in 2015, creating a multi-party federal republic. Previously Nepal had been a unitary state, albeit with a long period of political instability and insurgency. The first election under the Constitution was [...]

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Tuesday urged countries in Andaman Sea region to step up for helping rescue Rohingya Muslims stranded at sea. In contrast, the UNHCR welcomed Indonesian fishermen’s–in concert with local authorities’–actions which saved 58 people Sunday and 174 people Monday. UNHCR Representative to Indonesia, Ann Maymann, thanked the local communities [...]

Recently, Thailand passed an important human rights law following significant pressure from many parties including NGOs, victims of torture, relatives of the dead and missing, and investigative journalists. On 24 October 2022, the King signed into law the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearances Act which Parliament enacted on 26 August 2022. This [...]

Steve Herman (@W7VOA), the Chief National Correspondent for Voice of America (VOA) and JURIST’s 2022-2023 Journalist in Residence, was among a group of high-profile journalists suspended from Twitter late Thursday. According to VOA Seoul Bureau Chief William Gallo, “It appears @W7VOA’s suspension is related to his posts about the now-banned @ElonJet account, which used publicly [...]

Since the February 2021 coup d’état in Myanmar, human rights conditions have continued to deteriorate throughout the country. While the current ruling military dictatorship is guilty of causing and/or perpetuating many rights violations, some — such as restrictions on labor rights — had started even before the coup. In this explainer I will look at [...]

Since February 2021, Myanmar has remained under the thumb of a brutal military dictatorship. The coup d’état that hoisted the country’s military leadership — the Tatmadaw — into power has bad incalculable consequences on an economy already compromised by the COVID pandemic. What’s happening with Myanmar’s economy? Since the Tatmadaw seized power, the country’s currency, [...]

The situation in Myanmar continues to deteriorate, with news received on July 25 that four activists have been executed. The executions are the first carried out in Myanmar for several decades. The government mouthpiece, the Global New Light of Myanmar, claimed that the activists’ crimes were “giving directions, making arrangements, committing conspiracies for brutal and [...]

Thai human rights group iLaw, Southeast Asian internet watchdog Digital Reach and Toronto-based Citizen Lab Monday released a joint report claiming that multiple Thai democracy activists were targeted by a Pegasus spyware attack. The Pegasus software is owned by NSO Group, an Israeli firm, which claims to only sell its Pegasus software to government entities.  Pegasus is [...]

Freedom House released its complete report on transnational repression Thursday where it accused Rwanda of being one of the worst offenders. Transnational repression is a phenomena where a country will suppress dissent and target dissidents outside of its borders. The report documented the anti-repression policies of nine countries: Canada, Germany, South Africa, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, [...]

A Thailand court Friday sentenced a 33-year-old man named Narin Kulpongsathorn to two years in prison for insulting the monarchy by placing a sticker on a portrait of the king. This is the first sentencing under the country’s lèse-majesté laws in more than a year. The court found Kulpongsathorn guilty of putting a sticker bearing [...]