Friday, 24 January 2025
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** Criticising the clown and the crown
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Trump’s inauguration in the USA has dominated headlines this week – below, you’ll find our analysis of his executive orders, and how they could impact free speech. First though, I want to draw your attention to the other side of the world, specifically to Thailand. This week the South-East Asian country legalised gay marriage. But sadly this good news was balanced out with bad. The lawyer and activist Arnon Nampa was handed down a sixth conviction ([link removed]) for a speech he made in a pro-democracy protest in August 2020, which violated the country’s lèse-majesté law. This makes it illegal to insult the Thai royal family, and is amongst the harshest globally.

Arnon’s words were a far cry from “off with their heads”. He even said it wasn’t about “toppling the monarchy” and instead about discussing how “the monarchy will exist in Thai society in a manner that is correct and legitimate for a democracy with the king as head of state”. For such a suggestion, Arnon will likely spend 18 years in jail, maybe more.

Arnon is not alone in being punished for his anti-monarchy activism. Just last week, a 33-year-old man, referred to as Sathaphon ([link removed]) , was sentenced to 18 months in prison ([link removed]) for raising his middle finger at the royal motorcade in May 2022.

Hundreds more are in prison on the same charge, many of whom were arrested following mass protests that erupted in 2020 when people took to the streets to call for democratic and royal reforms. In one particularly extreme case, a woman was sentenced ([link removed]) to 87 years for allegedly sharing clips on social media of an online talk show that defamed the monarchy.

So it’s been a bad week for the country’s anti-monarchists. It’s also been bad for 48 Uyghur men who are in a Thai immigration centre, where they’ve been since 2014. They’re on hunger strike ([link removed]) to protest against imminent deportation to China. These men didn’t travel to Thailand for a holiday. They went to escape the real and very extreme persecution they face in China. The conditions they’ve endured in Thailand are already inhumane. If repatriated to China, it’ll be even worse.

Thai authorities have denied plans to deport them, despite reports ([link removed]) that the men have been asked to sign consent forms to be sent back (and despite the fact that in 2015, Thai authorities did deport 109 Uyghurs ([link removed]) back to China, and Thai authorities were likely also involved in the disappearance of Hong Kong bookseller Gui Minhai ([link removed]) , who later reappeared in a Chinese jail).

International pressure has grown this week from the UN and the new US administration over the fate of the 48. We support these calls. And we add our own calls; release Arnon and the others incarcerated for criticising the monarchy. Wearing a crown does not mean you are beyond reproach.

Jemimah Steinfeld

CEO, Index on Censorship


** More from Index
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** How might Donald Trump’s executive orders impact free speech? ([link removed])
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The new president has signed more than 100 directives that will alter the course of US policy

Lukashenka’s election plan is to shut down the internet – again ([link removed])

As elections loom, our Belarusian colleague shares her experiences of the protest crackdowns in 2020


** Liam Payne’s death signals an epidemic of silence in the music industry ([link removed])
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Music industry insider Mike Smith says the mental health of artists has long been neglected


** Nominate a champion for the 2025 Freedom of Expression Awards ([link removed])
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Tell us who you think should win in the fields of arts, campaigning and journalism

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Join Index on Wednesday 29 January at The Jago, Dalston for a night of music and poetry to launch our latest magazine issue, Unsung Heroes.

With performances by Uyghur musicians Rahima Mahmut and Shohret Nur, Belarusian poet Hanna Komar, and award-winning percussionist Sola Akingbola and the Eegun Rhapsodies.

Register now and get a free drink on the night.
REGISTER ([link removed])


** From elsewhere
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INDIA: If Modi were no longer in power, would it change anything for Muslims? ([link removed]) [link removed]

CHINA: “I had anti-government views so they treated me for schizophrenia ([link removed]) ”

UK: “Jimmy Lai Bill” introduced to help detained British journalists abroad ([link removed])

IRAN: Heavily tattooed pop singer faces death penalty for blasphemy ([link removed])

TECH: India’s fact checkers face uncertainty after Meta shifts goalposts ([link removed])

FRANCE: Journalist Ariane Lavrilleux will not be prosecuted after defence leak ([link removed])


** Flashback
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Fear and loathing in Belarus ([link removed])

by Larysa Shchyrakova and Yauhen Merkis ([link removed])

Index on Censorship, volume 50, issue 1 ([link removed])

As Belarus heads to the polls again to elect a president, we reflect on what happened in 2020 at the previous disputed election when Aliaksandr Lukashenka won a fifth term. A sixth term for "Europe's last dictator" is all but guaranteed.

At the last disputed poll, 477 journalists were detained including 160 in a single month. Two journalists wrote for us about their experiences. Read their story here ([link removed]) .


** Support our work
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The world is becoming more authoritarian and our work supporting individuals like Jimmy Lai and promoting freedom of expression in countries such as Belarus, India and Iran has never been more important.

By supporting Index on Censorship today, you can help us in our work with censored artists, jailed musicians, journalists under threat and dissidents facing torture and worse.

Please donate today ([link removed])

Images by Beth Dixson / Alamy Stock Photo (Trump mask); aroundworld / Alamy Stock Photo (Belarus protest)

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