The price of demanding justice

What is the price of demanding justice or better services from the state? Legal action, fines — and, in the worst-case scenario, imprisonment.

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Sadly, harsh implementation of the law is a reality that many activists and villagers have come to know all too well.

Last week, 15 villagers and activists advocating for land rights, labour protection, improved state welfare, and public participation were summoned to Dusit police station in Bangkok to acknowledge charges under the Public Assembly Act.

The law prohibits demonstrations within a 50-metre radius of Government House.

This Act, passed in 2015 under the junta-led government, has been widely criticised as a tool to enable Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP), or gagging writs.

The charges stem from peaceful demonstrations held between October last year and April this year.

The group is due to report to the Office of the Attorney General next month.

Their case is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the legal consequences and hardships faced by ordinary — often poor — people who protest against the government.

At the same time, the court is expected to issue a verdict in August against advisers to the People’s Movement for a Just Society (P-Move) for their role in the October 2023 protests.

It’s not only villagers and activists who face SLAPPs — politicians are affected too.