Thai Lawyers for Human Rights
Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) is a Thai organisation working to raise awareness about human rights violations and provide free legal support to people whose rights have been violated. The collective was formed immediately after coup d'état in Thailand, in May 2014. The organisation runs a 24-hour hotline and uses the information gathered to disseminate public awareness and advice for those summoned or arrested. TLHR also provides free litigation and legal assistance for vulnerable people whose rights have been affected by martial law and who do not have legal representatives.
After seizing power in a 2014 coup, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has maintained its grip on the country through an array of restrictive laws. The junta’s intolerance of dissenting opinions has resulted in a challenging climate for human rights defenders. Judicial harassment, which remains one of the most common tools to silence HRDs, has intensified, with defamation and other criminal and civil charges being brought against them. There are reports of surveillance of HRDs, both physical and online, intimidation, public smear campaigns and threats. A number of events, including the launching of human rights reports, have been disrupted and public gatherings banned. HRDs also face physical assaults, arbitrary detention and extrajudicial killings.
