On democracy and Human Rights in Thailand, notably the cases of the lese-majesty law and deportation of Uyghur refugees

B100192/2025

Motion for a European Parliament resolution on democracy and Human Rights in Thailand, notably the cases of the lese-majesty law and deportation of Uyghur refugees

(2025/2594(RSP))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to Rule 150(5) and 136(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

a) whereas since 2020 over 1.960 pro-democracy activists, human rights defenders, and journalists, including more than 280 children, were indicted or condemned for their opinionsunder the lèse-majesté law and other repressive laws used to curb freedom of expression, such asthe Sedition Law, the Public Assembly Act and the Computer Crimes Act;

b) whereas several human rights defenders, including Arnon Nampa, Anchan Preelert and Mongkhon Thirakot, have been sentenced to up to 50 years in prison for expressing their views or sharing posts on social media about the monarchy;

c) whereas the Constitutional Court dissolved the largest party (Move Forward Partyand 44 of its MPs are under investigation for proposing amendments to the lèse-majesté law, facing potential lifetime bans from politics;

d) whereas several MPs, including Piyarat Chongthep, Rakchanok Srinok, Chonthicha Jangrew face ongoing prosecutions under the lèse-majesté law for their political activities and statements;

e) whereas in February 2025 Thai authorities forcibly returned 40 Uyghur asylum seekers to China, raising concerns about their safety due to reports of arbitrary detention and mistreatment; whereas they had spent 11 years in Thai immigration detention,centreswhere at least five Uyghur detainees, including minors, reportedly died due to very poor conditions and inadequate medical care; whereas other Uyghur refugees are still imprisoned, including Bilal Mohammed and Yusufu Mieraili, who faced due process violations in their trials since 2015;

f) whereas Thailand’s deportation of Uyghur refugees, arbitrary detention and lack of fair trial rights violate its international obligations under the non-refoulement principle and the Convention against Torture and the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act;

g) whereas these violations represent an obstacle to the ongoing EU -Thailand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations, whose outcome is conditioned on economic and political criteria, including the respect for democracy and human rights;

1. Calls on Thailand to consolidate its progress towards democracy and political stability, uphold fundamental freedoms and human rights;

2. Urges the Thai Government to amend or repeal the lèse-majesté law, to uphold fundamental freedoms, to grant amnesty and release all those detained under the lèse-majesté law, and dismiss politically motivated charges against parliamentarians, activists and journalists;

3. Calls on Thailand to uphold human rights and adhere to its international obligations, particularly on refugee protection, against torture and enforced disappearance;

4. Condemns the deportation of Uyghur refugees to China and calls on the Thai Government to provide information on the situation of the Uyghur refugees still detained, to halt the deportation of refugees and asylum seekers to countries where they risk torture or other serious violations, to grant unfettered access to the UNCHR and to ratify the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol;

5. Calls on the Commission to condition the FTA negotiations on reforming repressive laws, particularly the lèse-majesté law, releasing all political prisoners, halting the deportation of Uyghur refugees, and ratifying all core ILO conventions;

6. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to all relevant parties.