March 8 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) has denounced the sentence of a Thai court that sentenced Narathorn Chotmankongsin to three years in prison for selling calendars with drawings of the rubber duck that became a symbol of the 2020 pro-democracy protests in the country.
Narathorn Chotmankongsin, explained HRW in a statement, was arrested at his home on December 31, 2022 and, after a trial that lasted six days, he has been convicted of defaming the monarchy by being in possession of and selling online calendars with the aforementioned image.
HRW’s Asia director, Elaine Pearson, has criticized the persecution of the sale of a “satirical calendar”, and has accused the Thai government of “sending a message to all Thais and the rest of the world, that Thailand is moving away from becoming a rights-respecting democracy.
The sentence is based on article 112 of the Thai Penal Code, which punishes anyone who “defames, insults or threatens” any member of the royal family with between three and twelve years in prison, something is being used to punish any hint of dissidence, coming to have accused more than 200 people since November 2020, according to a HRW complaint.
“Thai authorities must allow the peaceful expression of any point of view, including those relating to the monarchy,” Pearson said.
THE YELLOW RUBBER DUCK, A SYMBOL
During Thailand’s pro-democracy protests in November 2020, demonstrations in front of the Parliament in Bangkok were blocked by Thai security forces, leaving the only access route to the building, the Chao Phraya River, which protesters joked could cross riding an inflatable rubber duck.
From that moment on, the image of the yellow rubber duck was used by the demonstrators as a symbol of the protests, being reproduced on banners, t-shirts and other materials, both physically during the protests and in demands on the internet.
The drawing is therefore a symbol of the political cause of the activists, who among other things advocate a reform of the Thai monarchy.
