Photo courtesy of Benar News
Five activists in Thailand’s insurgency-plagued Deep South are facing the heat after hosting a mock referendum on self-determination.
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Five activists in Thailand’s insurgency-plagued Deep South are facing the heat after hosting a mock referendum on self-determination.
Yesterday, October 3, police charged two activists and three students for organising the event in June last year, sparking renewed debates about free speech in the volatile, heavily militarised border region.
The group, which includes members of The Pattani political movement and the Pelajar Bangsa student group, faces accusations under Article 116 of the Thai Criminal Code. The charges carry a potential seven-year prison sentence for threatening national security. Their “crime”? A mock poll that asked attendees if they supported self-determination for Pattani, a historical region spanning Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, and parts of Songkhla.
“This case involves students’ freedom of expression. Academic spaces…