Arnon Nampa is a human rights lawyer and one of the founders of Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR), a leading human rights organisation. He has also represented individuals facing judicial harassment for criticising the authorities or being involved in protests.
He was at the forefront of a protest movement that erupted in 2020 when hundreds of thousands of people, many of them young students, took to the streets to call for democratic changes including the role of monarchy - a subject traditionally considered taboo in Thailand.
Article 112 of the penal code criminalises royal defamation - commonly known as the lèse-majesté law - for any criticism of the King or the royal family and carries a punishment of up to 15 years’ imprisonment.
Between 2020 and 2022, Arnon was arrested and detained several times on several cases and charges.
2020
7 August 2020: Arnon was arrested on charges including sedition and violation of the Public Assembly Act, related to his participation in the 18 July 2020, pro-democracy protest. He was released on bail the following day.
19 August 2020: He was arrested again, this time for his 3 August 2020 speech at a Harry Potter themed rally advocating monarchy reform. He was charged with sedition, assembly with an intent to cause violence, violating the ban on public gatherings, and other criminal offenses. He is also undergoing disbarment proceedings before the Lawyers Council of Thailand for this speech.
3 September 2020: The court revoked Arnon's bail, citing violations of bail conditions, and he was detained until his release on 7 September 2020.
15 October 2020: Arnon was arrest at a protest after Thailand’s government imposed a state of emergency in a bid to end three months of student-led street protests calling for reforms to the monarchy and the resignation of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha.
2021
9 February 2021: Arnon was arrested and detained on charges of lèse-majesté (royal defamation) and other offenses related to a protest held on 19-20 September 2020. The court denied bail, leading to his imprisonment at Bangkok Remand Prison.
1 June 2021: After 110 days of detention without trial, Arnon was granted bail under conditions that included refraining from defaming the monarchy and inciting non-peaceful events.
9 August 2021: Following a speech on 3 August 2021, commemorating his previous Harry Potter-themed rally, Arnon was detained again on lèse-majesté charges.
2022
28 February 2022: Arnon was released on bail after 203 days of detention.
2023
26 September 2023: A court sentenced Arnon to four years in prison on one count of lèse-majesté (Article 112), and a fine of 20,000 baht (approximately USD 556) for violation of the Emergency Decree. The case stemmed from a speech Anon delivered in October 2020 at a peaceful demonstration at Bangkok’s Democracy Monument.
2024
17 January 2024: Arnon received an additional four-year prison sentence for a 2021 social media post deemed insulting to the monarchy.
19 April 2024: He was sentenced to an additional two years and 20 days for his calls at a Harry Potter-themed rally in 2021 to amend Thailand’s royal defamation laws.
25 July 2024: Arnon was handed another four-year prison term for two social media posts made in 2021, bringing his total sentence to 14 years. He was also convicted under the Computer Crime Act.
9 October 2024: The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), found his detention "arbitrary" and urged the Thai government to release him “immediately” and “accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations.”
3 December 2024: The Bangkok Criminal Court found Anon Nampa guilty for “lèse-majesté” and Article 14 of the Computer Crimes Act and sentenced him to two years in prison. This conviction stemmed from his participation in a campaign conducted in 2020 by pro-democracy protesters to write letters to King Rama X to reiterate their demands for the reform of the Thai monarchy.
19 December 2024: He received an additional two years and eight months in prison related to the 3 August 2020, Harry Potter-themed protest, increasing his total imprisonment term to 18 years, 10 months, and 20 days.
2025
27 March 2025: He received an additional two-year sentence for lèse-majesté in connection with a speech delivered in Chiang Mai, a northern province in Thailand, in November 2020.
28 May 2025: The Bangkok Criminal Court found Arnon guilty of violating the lèse-majesté law and sentenced to two years imprisonment. Arnon was also found guilty of violating the Loudspeaker Act, which prohibits the use of loudspeakers in public without prior permission from local authorities.
25 June 2025: He was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison under Section 112 of Thailand’s Criminal Code (lèse-majesté) in connection with a speech he gave at a protest on 2 December 2020.
8 July 2025: Human rights lawyer Arnon Nampa was sentenced to another 2 years and 4 months in prison for royal defamation and sedition in connection with a speech he gave at a protest in Bangkok in November 2020. The sentence passed brings to 29 years and 1 month the total time Arnon has to serve.
