Human Rights Watch on Friday called on authorities in Thailand to undertake urgent measures to address the influx of online death threats and harassment against members of parliament Angkhana Neelaphaijit and Romadon Panjor, alongside human rights activist Anchana Heemmina after they had voiced their disapproval of the Thai military and expressed their support for the Muslim community in Southern Thailand.
In confronting the critical nature of the matter affecting outspoken human rights defenders in Thailand, Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch stated:
“The Thai authorities should urgently and impartially investigate online attacks, including death threats, against Angkhana, Anchana, and Romadon, who have been widely recognized for their work defending human rights in Thailand’s deep south…Those responsible for serious threats should be brought to justice, regardless of their affiliation, to demonstrate Thailand’s commitment to protecting human rights defenders.”
On the 31st of July 2026, Angkhana made the decision to file a police report under the Computer-Related Crime Act (CCA) after an online misinformation campaign called for her extrajudicial killing, deemed her a sympathizer of the insurgent group Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), and falsely claimed that she was a staunch supporter of the deadly militant ambush in Narathiwat province. Similar sentiments were shared about Anchana and Romadon, with HRW stating that this illustrated how some of the abusive social media posts wishing them harm were part of a broader state orchestrated initiative, with these accounts being traced back to the Thai government’s information operations.
Angkhana, who works as a senator and is the former Commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand has long been the subject of a state-sponsored campaign of intimidation for her frontline work in advocating for the rights of the Thai Muslim community. The Muslim community in Thailand, which is concentrated in the Deep South, specifically in regions such as Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, and Satun, are extremely vulnerable to being arbitrarily detained by way of emergency decrees and martial law, forcibly disappeared, tortured while in custody, forced to assimilate by adopting a generic Thai identity, and excluded from holding jobs due to widespread social prejudice.
Thailand’s military has a well-documented history of human rights abuses, ranging from the deadly 2010 Red Shirt Protests which saw the army being deployed under a strict state of emergency to suppress pro-democracy protesters, leading to over 80 fatalities. However, violent military operations in the Deep South rarely receive the same level of publicity when compared to other provinces in the country, largely due to severe political neglect, framing abuses as a mechanism to eradicate terrorism, and geographic marginalization. This has resulted in the scale of abuses against activists in the Deep South to be swept under the rug, with minimal investigation being conducted into these cases.
Previously, Angkhana’s husband, Somchai Neelaphaijit, a prominent human rights lawyer was last seen being pushed into a car by a group of men against his will in early 2004, and he has never been seen since, leaving behind his wife and five young children.
