<p>Sombat Thongyoi, a former Red Shirt protest guard, has been sentenced to 6 years in prison on charges of royal defamation and violation of the Computer Crimes Act over 3 Facebook posts he made in 2020.</p>

<p>Declared 2 years ago to combat the spread of Covid-19, Thailand&rsquo;s State of Emergency has resulted in diminished freedom of expression and assembly. &nbsp;It has also been used as grounds for cracking down on pro-democracy protests and prosecuting activists.</p>

<p>Members of civil society organizations from across the country marched on the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security on 24 March to protest against the new non-profit organization bill, concerned that it would be used to restrict freedom of association in Thailand.</p>

<p>Thailand&rsquo;s rating remains &lsquo;Not Free&rsquo; in Freedom House&rsquo;s 2022 <a href="https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2022/global-expansion-authoritarian-rule">Freedom in the World</a> report, with its score dropping from last year&rsquo;s 30 out of 100 to 29, while the report notes a global threat to freedom and democracy and the expansion of authoritarian regimes.&nbsp;</p>

<p>A protest on Sunday (20&nbsp;February 2022) at Tha Pae gate in Chiang Mai city called for the repeal of the royal defamation law, or Section 112 of the Thai Criminal Code.</p>

<p>A student in Lamphun has been ordered to take down a set of campaign photographs on marriage equality from their social media account by their school administration, which claims that protests should not be done on campus or in uniform.</p>

<p>11 activists have been charged with violations of the Emergency Decree for joining a protest organized by the People&rsquo;s Movement for Just Society (P-Move), which addressed land rights and community rights.</p>

<p>The activist group Thaluwang (&ldquo;Through the palace&rdquo;) conducted a poll yesterday (8 February 2022) at Siam Paragon shopping mall on whether people think they face trouble from royal motorcades, but were obstructed by mall security and the police.</p>

<p>Two student activists were arrested this morning (14 January) while holding banners near the Chiang Mai University auditorium calling for graduates to boycott the graduation ceremony, presided over by Princess Sirindhorn, and for the repeal of Section 112.</p>

<p>Community rights activist Khairiyah Rahmanyah, 18, said she received a summons from the Pathumwan Police Station for violating the Emergency Decree and the Sound Amplifier Act.</p>