Under President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s leadership, the Sri Lankan civil war reached a brutal conclusion on May 18, 2009, ending a 25-year-long conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a separatist rebel group. Rooted in longstanding grievances, including discriminatory policies against Sri Lanka’s Tamil minority, the conflict saw the [...]
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Thailand’s Election Commission (EC) said in a statement on Tuesday that it will petition the country’s Constitutional Court to dissolve the opposition Move Forward Party (MFP) because of the latter’s efforts to change the country’s royal insult law. The legislation, also known as Thailand’s “lese majeste” law, falls under section 112 of the Thai criminal [...]
Trump’s Executive Immunity Arguments Betray America’s Founding Principles
Last week, a US appeals court panel stood as guardians of America’s founding ideals against a would-be despot. Donald Trump told the court that he is immune to prosecution over the January 6 Capitol attack because at the time he was president, and thus anything he may have said or done in connection with the [...]
Prime Minister of Thailand Srettha Thavisin announced that former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was granted parole Tuesday. He was previously serving his one-year prison sentence for corruption charges. Under the Correction Department regulations, inmates can be considered for parole after a certain time period and an official review. As Thaksin is 74 years old, he [...]
Thailand mulls prosecuting former premier under royal insult law
Thailand’s attorney general’s office announced that it is still considering prosecuting former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra over an alleged insult to the monarchy, an official said on Tuesday. This comes just as Shinawatra is considered for release under parole. The announcement relates to a 2015 interview he gave while in South Korea. Shinawatra suggested that [...]
Lawyer Theerayut Suwankesorn filed a petition with Thailand’s National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) Friday against multiple members of parliament (MPs) of the progressive Move Forward Party (MFP) as reported by the Thai state news agency, National News Bureau of Thailand (NNT). 44 MPs of the MFP have been brought under scrutiny by the petition filed before [...]
Thailand Constitutional Court rules attempts to change royal insult law are illegal
The Constitutional Court of Thailand ruled Wednesday that the opposition Move Forward Party’s (MFP) efforts to change the country’s royal insult law are illegal, ordering a cessation of any attempts to push for change. The ruling creates the potential for political bans on the party and its members if found in violation of the law. [...]
Thailand activist sentenced to record 50 years in prison for royal defamation
Thailand national and cloth merchant Mongkol “Busbas” Thirakot received his second conviction and total of 50 years in prison Thursday for a case of royal defamation related to his social media posts from 2021. Criticism or defamation of the Thai monarchy is considered a criminal offense under the Thai Criminal Code, commonly known as the lese-majeste [...]
Thailand activist gets second conviction and 4 more years in prison for royal defamation
Thailand activist and lawyer Arnon Nampa received his second conviction and four more years of imprisonment Wednesday for a case of royal defamation related to social media posts from 2021. Defamation of Thai royalty is a punishable offence under the Thai Criminal Code, referred to as the lese-majeste law. According to a report by Nampa’s volunteer [...]
A clash between thousands of monarchist protestors and police took place in Kathmandu, Nepal on Thursday. The confrontation, marked by the use of rattan sticks, tear gas and water cannons, resulted in the forceful dispersal of the demonstration. This event underscores tensions between pro-monarchy and pro-republic factions in the Himalayan nation. Initially peaceful, the demonstration [...]