<p>A digital artist was arrested at her home on Thursday&nbsp;(30 June) on a royal defamation charge, after charges were filed against her for a portrait of King Vajiralongkorn published on Instagram in September 2021.</p>

<p>The activist group 24 June Democracy has demanded that the Ministry of Justice investigate a prison doctor&rsquo;s alleged harassment of Nutthanit (last name withheld), or &ldquo;Baipor,&rdquo; a monarchy reform activist currently detained pending trial on a royal defamation charge, while the Department of Corrections claims no harassment took place.</p>

<p>Punyaphat (last name withheld), a 29-year-old man with a mental illness, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for posts he made in the Facebook group Royalist Marketplace about King Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida&rsquo;s popularity and the King&rsquo;s trips to Germany.</p>

<p>As the number of individuals charged with royal defamation passed 200 in just over 18 months, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) call on the Thai government to end the prosecution, arrest, and detention of individuals exercising their freedom of expression and to amend the royal defamation law&nbsp; to bring it into line with Thailand&rsquo;s human rights obligations under the ICCPR.</p>

<p>Piyabutr Saengkanokkul, former lecturer at Thammasat University&rsquo;s Faculty of Law, former Future Forward MP and current Secretary-General of the Progressive Movement, has been charged with royal defamation for several posts he made on social media.</p>

<p>Three online influencers were arrested yesterday (16 June) and charged with royal defamation for taking part in an online sales campaign which allegedly made fun of members of the royal family.</p>

<p>Monarchy reform activist Sopon Surariddhidhamrong, who has been held in pre-trial detention on a royal defamation charge, was granted bail and released yesterday (31 May).</p>

<p>Monarchy reform activist Tantawan Tuatulanon has been granted bail after spending over a month in pre-trial detention on royal defamation charges, while the Court once again denied bail for activist <a name="_Hlk104499712">Sopon Surariddhidhamrong</a>, also held in pre-trial detention on a royal defamation charge.</p>

<p>Four monarchy reform activists were again denied bail on 20 May, including Tantawan Tuatulanon, who has been on a hunger strike for the past 32&nbsp;days to demand the right to bail, while a protest caravan visited the Ratchadaphisek Criminal Court and the Bangkok Remand Prison to demand the release of 11 detained activists.</p>

<p>Another activist has been arrested and charged with royal defamation for a speech given at the <a href="https://prachatai.com/english/node/9783">Chakri Memorial Day protest</a> on 6 April 2022.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The activist network Citizens for the Abolition of 112 submitted a petition to the US Embassy yesterday (10 May) calling for the US to pressure the Thai authorities to release detained activists and repeal the royal defamation law.</p>