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Join #Penguin and Call on the Lao Government to #FreeMuay from Jail!
Join Penguin and call on the Lao government to #FreeMuay from jail!
Parit Chiwarak, also known as "Penguin", joined our campaign to #FreeMuay. Penguin has been fighting as a political activist since he was in high school. On August 14, 2020, Thai police arrested him on charges related to his involvement in the July 18 #FreeYouth rally in Bangkok.
At that time, he was charged with sedition, which carries a maximum seven-year prison term, assembly with the intention to cause violence, violating the ban on public gatherings, and other criminal offenses. He was bailed out in 2020, then, in 2021, he was jailed again being charged under Article 112 for royal defamation but the court refused his bail. Penguin announced that he would go on hunger strike until the court granted his bail. He has now been starving himself for the past 15 days.
On March 15, 2021, Penguin read out a statement during a hearing questioning the court's decision for those who were charged with the royal defamation law. He said: “But the truth is the truth, whether it’s in a prison, in a machine of torture, or it is at the pillar of execution. The truth is still the truth. No matter how much suffering your imprisoning me causes, that suffering cannot destroy the truth.”
Like Muay, Penguin was also arrested by the authorities for speaking truth to power!
Manushya Foundation stands in solidarity with those brave activists who fight for what is right and defend Human Rights! Muay and Penguin need to be released from jail immediately!
Human Rights Watch,Thailand: Drop Charges, Release Student Activist. (August 15, 2020) Available at: https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/08/15/thailand-drop-charges-release-student-activist
Prachatai, "But the truth is the truth": Parit Chiwarak's statement to the judges. (March 16, 2021)Available at: https://prachatai.com/english/node/9127
Bangkok Post, Four protest leaders denied bail again, (February 27, 2021) Available at: https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2075455/four-protest-leaders-denied-bail-again
Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, “Penguin” Parit Chiwarak received a warrant under Section 112. (January 29, 2021) Available at: https://twitter.com/TLHR2014/status/1355046159660814337
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