Latest news with #Arnon
Bangkok Post
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Bangkok Post
Rights lawyer's jail time reaches 29 years
Human rights lawyer Arnon Nampa has been sentenced to another 2 years and 4 months in prison for royal defamation and sedition in connection with a speech he gave at a protest in Bangkok in November 2020. The sentence passed on Tuesday by the Criminal Court in Bangkok brings to 29 years and 1 month the total time Arnon has to serve, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR). It was his 10th conviction. All of the convictions are still being appealed but countless applications for bail for the 40-year-old Roi Et native have been denied, the lawyers' group said. The speech that Arnon gave did not mention any royal names but it was clear who was being referred to, and those references were defamatory under Section 112 of the Criminal Code, the lese-majeste law, TLHR quoted the court as saying. Arnon and an unnamed co-defendant were also found guilty of incitement under Section 116, the sedition law, as they called for protesters to continue the gathering at Royal Thai Police headquarters. The court sentenced both defendants to 6 months in prison for sedition, and Arnon was sentenced to an additional 3 years for lese-majeste. As the defendants gave beneficial testimony, the sedition sentences were reduced to 4 months, and Arnon's lese-majeste sentence was reduced to 2 years, his lawyers said. Arnon is still facing four more cases involving lese-majeste and other charges in connection with his activities as part of the reform movement that was active in 2020 and 2021. Arnon has been held in detention since Sept 26, 2023 pending appeals against all his convictions. According to data from TLHR to May 31 this year, 1,975 people have been prosecuted for political participation and expression since the beginning of the Free Youth protests in July 2020. At least 281 are facing lese-majeste charges under Section 112 and 156 have been charged with sedition under Section 116.
The Wire
08-07-2025
- Politics
- The Wire
Thailand's Judiciary Is Flexing Its Muscles, Yet Dozens of Activists Are at the Mercy of the Courts
Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra is currently feeling the sharp end of the country's powerful judiciary. On July 2, 2025, Thailand's Constitutional Court suspended Paetongtarn from office as a result of a leaked phone conversation in which she was heard disparaging Thailand's military and showing deference to former the prime minister of Cambodia, Hun Sen, despite an ongoing border dispute between the two countries. Initially set for 14 days, many onlookers believe the court's suspension is likely to become permanent. Meanwhile, far from the prime minister's office is Arnon Nampa, another Thai national whose future is at the mercy of the Thai judiciary – in this case, the Criminal Court. Arnon, a lawyer and internationally recognised human rights defender, is one of 32 political prisoners imprisoned over 'lèse majesté,' or insulting the Thai monarchy. He is currently serving a sentence of nearly 30 years for a speech questioning the monarchy during pro-democracy protests in 2020. Unless he is both acquitted in his remaining cases and his current convictions are overturned on appeal, Arnon will likely spend the rest of his life in prison. The plights of Paetongtarn and Arnon may seem distant. But as a historian of Thai politics, I see the cases as connected by a judiciary using the law and its power to diminish the prospects for democracy in Thailand and constrain the ability of its citizens to participate freely in society. Familiar Troubles The Shinawatra family is no stranger to the reach of both the Thai military and the country's courts. Paetongtarn is the third of her family to be prime minister – and could become the third to be ousted. Her father, Thaksin Shinawatra, was removed in a 2006 military coup. Her aunt, Yingluck Shinawatra, was ousted prior to the May 22, 2014, coup. In common with past coups, the juntas who fomented them were shielded from the law, with none facing prosecution. For now, it is unclear whether Paetongtarn's suspension is the precursor to another coup, the dissolution of parliament and new elections, or a reshuffle of the cabinet. But what is clear is that the Constitutional Court's intervention is one of several in which the nine appointed judges are playing a critical role in the future of Thai democracy. Protecting the Monarchy The root of the judiciary's power can be found in the way the modern Thai nation was set up nearly 100 years ago. On June 24, 1932, Thailand transitioned from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy. Since then, the country has experienced 13 coups, as the country has shifted from democracy to dictatorship and back again. But throughout, the monarchy has remained a constant presence – protected by Article 112 of the Criminal Code, which defines the crime and penalty of lese majesté: 'Whoever defames, insults, or threatens the king, queen, heir-apparent or regent shall be subject to three-to-fifteen years imprisonment.' The law is widely feared among dissidents in Thailand both because it is interpreted broadly to include any speech or action that is not laudatory and innocent verdicts are rare. Although Article 112 has been law since 1957, it was rarely used until after the 2006 coup. Since then, cases have risen steadily and reached record levels following a youth-led movement for democracy in 2020. At least 281 people have been, or are currently being, prosecuted for alleged violation of Article 112, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights. Challenging the Status Quo The 2020 youth-led movement for democracy was sparked by the Constitutional Court's dissolution of the progressive Future Forward Party at the beginning of that year, the disappearance of a Thai dissident in exile in Cambodia, and economic problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In protests in Bangkok and in provinces across the country, they called for a new election, a new constitution and an end to state repression of dissent. On August 3, 2020, Nampa added another demand: The monarchy must be openly discussed and questioned. Without addressing such a key, unquestionable institution in the nation, Arnon argued, the struggle for democracy would inevitably fail. This message resonated with many Thai citizens, and despite the fearsome Article 112, protests grew throughout the last months of 2020. Students at Thammasat University, the centre of student protest since the 1950s, expanded Arnon's call into a 10-point set of demands for reform of the monarchy. Making it clear that they did not aim to abolish the monarchy, the students' proposal aimed to clarify the monarchy's economic, political and military role and make it truly constitutional. As the protests began to seem unstoppable, with tens of thousands joining, the police began cracking down on demonstrations. Many were arrested for violating anti-COVID-19 measures and other minor laws. By late November 2020, however, Article 112 charges began to be brought against Arnon and other protest leaders for their peaceful speech. In September 2023, Arnon was convicted in his first case, and he has been behind bars since. He is joined by other political prisoners, whose numbers grow weekly as their cases move through the judicial process. Capricious Courts Unlike Arnon, Paetongtarn Shinawatra is not facing prison. But the Constitutional Court's decision to suspend her from her position as prime minister because of a leaked recording of an indiscreet telephone conversation is, to many legal minds, a capricious response that has the effect of short-circuiting the democratic process. So too, I believe, does bringing the weight of the law against Arnon and other political prisoners in Thailand who remain behind bars as the current political turmoil plays out. Tyrell Haberkorn, Professor of Southeast Asian Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The Star
23-05-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Jailed lawyer wins international rights prize
A lawyer jailed for criticising the monarchy has won an international human rights prize in recognition of his efforts to promote freedom of expression and democratic reform. Arnon Nampa, 40, was named the Asia-Pacific recipient of this year's Front Line Defenders Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk, becoming the first Thai national to receive the honour. He is currently serving a 22-year prison sentence following multiple convictions under Thailand's strict lese-majeste law, which criminalises criticism of the monarchy, as well as other offences. In a statement, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights said Arnon was recognised for 'his role in promoting and protecting human rights despite facing danger and serious risks to his own personal safety'. The Front Line Defenders Award, presented annually by the Ireland-based organisation, highlights the work of activists around the world who operate under threat. In a letter read by a member of his family during the award ceremony in Dublin, Arnon called it 'a profound honour' that gave him 'strength for the road ahead'. He described Thailand's political repression as a generational battle against the 'old order' marked by suppression of dissent. Arnon rose to prominence during Thailand's 2020 youth-led pro-democracy protests, where he publicly called for reform of the monarchy and military-backed government. His taboo-breaking speeches and online posts have led to a series of convictions under lese majeste, or Section 112 of the Penal Code, which carries sentences up to 15 years in prison per offence. — AFP
The Star
23-05-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Jailed Thai lawyer wins international rights award; first man from South-East Asian nation to win prestigious title
Arnon Nampa, 40, was named the Asia-Pacific recipient of this year's Front Line Defenders Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk, becoming the first Thai national to receive the honour. -- Photo: The Nation Thailand/ANN BANGKOK (AFP): A Thai lawyer jailed for criticising the monarchy has won an international human rights prize in recognition of his efforts to promote freedom of expression and democratic reform. Arnon Nampa, 40, was named the Asia-Pacific recipient of this year's Front Line Defenders Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk, becoming the first Thai national to receive the honour. He is currently serving a 22-year prison sentence following multiple convictions under Thailand's strict lese-majeste law, which criminalises criticism of the monarchy, as well as other offences. In a statement, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) said Arnon was recognised for "his role in promoting and protecting human rights despite facing danger and serious risks to his own personal safety". The Front Line Defenders Award, presented annually by the Ireland-based organisation, highlights the work of activists around the world who operate under threat. In a letter read by a member of his family during the award ceremony in Dublin, Arnon called it "a profound honour" that gives him "strength for the road ahead". He described Thailand's political repression as a generational battle against the "old order" marked by suppression of dissent. Arnon rose to prominence during Thailand's 2020 youth-led pro-democracy protests, where he publicly called for reform of the monarchy and military-backed government. His taboo-breaking speeches and online posts have led to a series of convictions under lese majeste, or Section 112 of the Penal Code, which carries sentences up to 15 years in prison per offence. TLHR says his total jail term now amounts to 22 years, and he has been in detention since September 2023, with appeals against all convictions currently pending. In 2024 alone, he submitted at least 41 bail requests, all of which were denied. Rights groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have condemned Arnon's imprisonment and called for his release. - AFP
CBC
08-02-2025
- Science
- CBC
Whale song shows 'hallmarks' of human language
Social Sharing There's a reason "antidisestablishmentarianism" is more a piece of trivia than vital to the English language. Because a word that long is not what human language favours. According to experts, we tend toward efficiency and brevity — with statistical laws that persist across cultures. Perhaps now, even across species. Two new studies this week focused on whale song and found striking, structural parallels to human language, especially in humpback whales. To be clear, we're no closer to translating the meaning of those soulful, haunting, put it-on-a-best-selling-record songs from these ocean giants. But experts say it highlights the role of evolutionary pressures in complex communication. From the mouths of babes The first study, published in Science, focused on humpback whale song because it is culturally transmitted — in other words, taught and changed over time just like human language. The interdisciplinary collaboration took eight years as researchers painstakingly gathered recordings from a pod of humpbacks and broke them down into smaller components. The key to their analysis was a method based on how human babies learn. "One of the first challenges that infants face in breaking into language is discovering what the relevant units are," explains author Inbal Arnon, professor of psychology at Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Though they don't know they're doing it, babies use low-level statistical reasoning to figure out which relevant sounds are more likely to follow others. "Let's think about the [word] 'baby.' How likely are you to hear bee if you just heard bay?" Arnon said, suggesting that infants figure out these likelihoods innately. This logic led them to find a pattern in humpback whale song known as Zipfian distribution — which, in human language, dictates that the most frequent word is twice as used as the next frequent word. "It's this kind of characteristic fingerprint of human language," said Simon Kirby, co-author and professor of language evolution at the University of Edinburgh. "So it's a really surprising thing to find it in this completely unrelated species of humpback whales producing songs deep in the ocean." The researchers theorize that it flips the idea that we've evolved to be good at language — instead, they suggest it implies both that language evolves in order to be passed down better, and that this applies to species other than humans. "If a language has to be learned in order to get from one generation to the next," Kirby suggested, "then the languages that are learnable are the only ones that will survive." WATCH | What did you say? Whales can't hear each other over all our noise: Whale are struggling to hear each because of human noise, study suggests 12 months ago Duration 1:45 Researchers found that baleen whales can't make their songs in deeper parts of the ocean, forcing them closer to the surface — and closer to human-caused noise pollution. Succinct Cetaceans The other study, published in Science Advances, found that whale song has parallels to another hallmark of human language: efficiency. "In general, in language, we try to convey as much information as we can," said Mason Youngblood, an animal behaviour and cultural evolution researcher at Stony Brook University in New York. He says the cost is high for humpbacks to sing, considering they bellow their songs across vast distances under water while holding their breath and cycling it through their bodies. "It's important to do so in the cheapest way possible," Youngblood said. "And the easiest way to do that is by reducing vocalization time." The research found some whales — including humpbacks, bowhead, blue and fin whales — adhere to two linguistic laws: Menzerath's Law and Zipf's Law of Abbreviation. Put simply, both laws mean you spend less time blabbing. While not quite universal, Youngblood says it points to the constraints that shape the evolution of communication in different species. Moving, but not meaning Shane Gero, a scientist in residence at Ottawa's Carleton University and the lead biologist for Project CETI, finds the cultural transmission aspect interesting. "You learn these things from your mother and your grandmother and your grandmother's mother," said Gero, who was not involved with the study. "And that yields the need for speakers and listeners to … be concise, for lack of a better word." But he and others warn that breaking down whale song in this way is not like breaking down a sentence into words — in other words, just because we can find patterns in their songs doesn't mean we know what whales are saying. "Detecting a pattern like this doesn't make any direct connection to semantics," Gero explained from Ottawa. "In fact, there's plenty of science that shows you can find this in improvisational jazz." That comparison to musical structure might be the best way to appreciate the parallels, suggests Tecumseh Fitch, a cognitive biologist at the University of Vienna who studies bioacoustics.
