Court allows lèse majesté defendant to take up scholarship in Germany

At the 7th request, the South Bangkok Criminal Court has allowed DAAD scholarship recipient Ravisara Eksgool to travel to Germany to study for a master's degree in non-profit organisation management.

Ravisara Eksgool (File photo)

According to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR), Ravisara was granted permission to travel to Germany at 19.30 on Friday (1 April) after she submitted her seventh request on 31 March.

TLHR summarised the Court's reasons for allowing her to leave for Germany because she has never failed to comply with the bail conditions set since 2021. The Court also required her not to attend protests that damage the monarchy either in Thailand or Germany, and to submit to the Court a report on her academic progress every semester. 

3 people have been appointed to oversee her compliance: her father, her sister and her university lecturer during her bachelor degree. Her sister, who is now working in Germany, is the monitor in Germany.

The Court also required Ravisara to return to Thailand prior to her Court hearing on 2 March 2023 and to remain in the kingdom until the verdict is given.

Ravisara testified to the Court that she believed the reason for Germany giving her a scholarship was the 120-year-long relationship between Thailand and Germany, and because Germany upholds the principle of human rights, especially the presumption of innocence, that allowed her to be awarded the scholarship despite being charged under Section 112 of Criminal Code.

She said that if the Court denied her for the chance to take this scholarship, she would not be able to re-apply due to the scholarship condition that bars applicants who have previously been awarded the scholarship.

Ravisara was charged with royal defamation for reading out a statement in German during the 26 October 2020 protest at the German Embassy. Her bail conditions of not being allowed to leave the country without court permission have taken their toll on her after she secured a scholarship to pursue a master’s degree in management of non-profit organisations at the Osnabrück University of Applied Science, Germany.

Beside a series of rejections by the Court, she had experienced trouble in February 2022 when she was denied a passport to be issued due to her ongoing case.

After hearing the Court’s ruling, she said she was very happy and would like to express her gratitude for all the support that has brought her here. 

Her curriculum takes 2 and a half years to complete. The Court has ordered her to return at a time when the semester is closed, so this should not have any effect on her studies.

Kittisak Kongthong, Ravisara’s attorney, said that conditions were added at each request as the judges changed and had different opinions. Ravisara and her attorney had problems keeping up with the changing conditions. 

Some judges contradicted each other. For example, at the 5th request, one judge said that the monitor must be a relative of Ravisara because of the close relationship, but at the 6th request, another judge ruled differently. Court officials also made informal decisions about the additional information needed for the next submission.

“The Court should affirm the principle of rights and liberties of an individual who has yet to receive a final judgement. They should have the rights to education and travel. Setting up restrictions just because they are concerned about flight is a restriction of opportunities for those who have yet to be tried and proven guilty. The Court is concerned that they will flee, but is not concerned that they will suffer from not having the opportunity to study,” said Kittisak.

“However, we would like to thank the Court for eventually realising and seeing the necessity of the right to education and allowing the defendant to leave for study.”.

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