Fully refundable for Justice recognised the efforts of Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) at The Albies, a gala held in New York City.
The TLHR was among six honorees from across the globe, celebrated for their work towards defending democracy activists and others who have been the target of legal harassment and persecution. The award ceremony was named after Justice Albie Sachs for his monumentally very important position in abolishing apartheid in South Africa.
The award, Justice for Democracy Defenders, was bestowed upon TLHR for defending “thousands of students, activists and journalists who have been arrested beneath Thailand‘s laws criminalising peaceful protest and speech — together with insulting the monarchy.”
The co-founder of the organisation, Sirikan “June” Charoensiri, confronted a multitude of prosecutions herself as a result of her work defending 14 pro-democracy student protesters who were arrested in June 2015. These students were charged with sedition by the army regime, leading to Charoensiri being charged with the same offence.
During her acceptance speech, Sirikan posed a rhetorical query to the audience, asking in the event that they knew that discussing the royal family or advocating for democratic reform may result in imprisonment.
“These implausible eventualities are all too actual for us.”
As per TLHR knowledge as of August 31, 1,925 individuals have been prosecuted for political participation and expression for the rationale that Free Youth protests took off in July 2020. Of these, 257 are going through lese-majeste expenses underneath Section 112, and 130 have been charged with sedition underneath Section 116.
The gala, organised by human rights lawyer Amal Clooney and her actor husband George Clooney, drew a crowd of high-profile personalities from various fields together with human rights, enterprise, entertainment, fashion, and expertise.
In a joint assertion, the Clooneys emphasised the risks confronted by justice defenders worldwide.
“Courageous justice defenders around the globe face grave dangers that can’t be eradicated in a single day. But what we can do, in addition to our foundation’s every day work, is shine a spotlight on the hazard that these individuals are going through, raising the stakes for their persecutors.”
Notably, actress Meryl Streep was seen at The Albies alongside TLHR co-founder Sirikan Charoensiri and Ann-Pawinee Chumsri, TLHR litigation manager, reports Bangkok Post.
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