The following is based on a communication written by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and other UN experts to the Government of Thailand on 27 February 2025. The communication remained confidential for 60 days before being made public, giving the Government time to reply. Regrettably, the Government did not reply within this time frame. If a reply is received it will be posted on the UN Special Procedures communications database.
Since the communication was sent, the preliminary evidence examination took place on 24 March 2025. The Pattani Provincial Court has scheduled a total of sixteen witness examination hearings, with the prosecution’s witnesses set to testify beginning on 29 July 2025, across nine sessions. The defendant’s witness examination will follow, starting on 2 September 2025, spanning seven sessions.
This is a shorter version of the original communication.
BACKGROUND
Topic: the criminal proceeding and charges pressed against Mr. Muhammad Aladee Dengni, Mr. Hasan Yamadibu, Mr. Sukiplee Kamae, Mr. A Nas Daereh and five other individuals, who have been charged on 23 January 2025 under section 116 (sedition), section 209 (member of secret society whose object is unlawful), and section 210 (conspiracy to commit crimes as part of a criminal association) of Thailand’s Criminal Code and the Emergency Decree for peacefully participating on 4 May 2022 in Melayu Raya, a Malay-Muslim cultural gathering, in the Pattani Province in Southern Thailand.
Mr. Muhammad Aladee Dengni is a human rights defender from Narathiwat Province in Southern Thailand and a chairperson of Nusantara Foundation, a non-governmental organization providing support to Malay-Muslim orphans in the Southern Border Provinces of Thailand. He has regularly appeared on Wartani Politics Talk, a news program covering political issues in the Southern Border Provinces. He was a leader of the Civil Society Assembly for Peace when the coalition organized Melayu Raya 2022.
Mr. Hasan Yamadibu is a human rights defender, native of Narathiwat Province, a former English teacher, a local history researcher at Mahidol University, and a secretary of the Civil Society Assembly for Peace. He has been advocating for the peace process and the right to education in the Southern Border Provinces of Thailand, with a focus on the promotion of Melayu identity through religious education at the kindergarten level in the Southern Border Provinces. He also runs a Facebook page called “Salasilah Patani”, which has more than 100,000 followers, where he frequently posts educational videos about Malay-Patani history. He attended and received a certificate from the Thai Human Rights Defenders School organized by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Bangkok, Thailand.
Mr. Sukiplee Kamae is a producer of The Motive, a local news media agency covering issues in the Southern Border Provinces of Thailand. He started his advocacy for peace and human rights when he was a student and has continued engaging in this field by creating media content, such as music and videos.
Mr. A Nas Daereh is a member of Bunga Raya Group, a student activist organization from Yala Province in Southern Thailand that works on promoting the education of local communities on issues related to the peace process. He has been advocating for the human rights and cultural rights of the Malay-Muslim community in the Southern Border Provinces of Thailand.
ALLEGATIONS
On 4 May 2022, the Civil Society Assembly for Peace (CAP) hosted Melayu Raya 2022, a peaceful cultural gathering aimed at promoting Malay-Muslim cultural rights, at Wasukri beach, in the Pattani Province in Southern Thailand. CAP is a coalition of civil society organizations that support the peace process and advocate for justice for individuals affected by national security laws in Thailand’s Southern Border Provinces. At the gathering, participants wore Malay traditional costumes, gave speeches, held concerts, and took group pictures. The objectives of Melayu Raya 2022 included promoting and preserving the local identity, raising awareness about Malay traditional costumes in Thai societies, providing an avenue for youth networks in different areas to express their cultures in a creative manner, and advocating for and supporting the peace process in Southern Thailand. More than 10,000 people reportedly attended the event.
Mr. Muhammad Aladee Dengni, Mr. Hasan Yamadibu, Mr. Sukiplee Kamae, Mr. A Nas Daereh, and five other individuals attended the gathering on 4 May 2022 and engaged in different activities. Mr. Muhammad Aladee Dengni and Mr. Hasan Yamadibu delivered speeches to the crowd, while Mr. A Nas Daereh led the recital by youth attendees of a religious pledge and Mr. Sukiplee Kamae sang local songs about the youth and land of “Patani”, a term that refers to the region including the provinces of Pattani, Narathiwat, Yala and parts of Songkhla.
CAP reportedly organized Melayu Raya events also in 2023 and 2024, as well as other events in the same period aiming at promoting local identity.
On 14 December 2023, the Pattani Police Station reportedly summoned nine individuals, including Mr. Muhammad Aladee Dengni, Mr. Hasan Yamadibu, Mr. Sukiplee Kamae and Mr. A Nas Daereh and five others, for their alleged engagement and activity during Melayu Raya 2022.
On 9 January 2024, the nine individuals reportedly went to the Sai Buri Police Station to acknowledge the charges brought against them under section 116 (sedition), section 209 (member of a secret society whose object is unlawful) and section 210 (conspiracy to commit crimes as part of a criminal association) of the Criminal Code of Thailand and under the Emergency Decree. They reportedly denied all charges.
The charge sheet also reportedly alleged that the accused individuals delivered speeches and sang songs aiming at inciting youth participants to cause “disorder” or “breach” the law, and to engage in a “revolution” in order to secure the “independence of the state of Patani”, noting in this regard that section 1 of the Constitution states that Thailand is “one and indivisible Kingdom”. The charge sheet further stated that youth Melayu Raya 2022 participants lined up “like soldiers”, some of them “saluted”, and some carried a Palestinian flag and the flag of the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), an Islamist independence movement and insurgent group in Southern Thailand.
On 10 January 2024, the Commander-in-Chief of Army Region 4 and Director of the Internal Security Operations Command Region 4 stated that the charges against the nine individuals were pressed because of the reported presence of the BRN flags and the speeches allegedly inciting young people to start a revolution and fight for the independence of the region. According to the law enforcement official, the charges were not linked to the fact that participants wore Melayu costumes at the rally, as it was claimed online.
On 12 March 2024, the nine individuals went again to Sai Buri Police Station to provide their statements for the inquiry. Mr. Muhammad Aladee Dengni, Mr. Hasan Yamadibu and Mr. A Nas Daereh were reportedly asked to share their views on section 1 of the Constitution and to report whether the flag or other symbols of Thailand were displayed and the national anthem was played at the gathering. Other questions reportedly included whether they had ever attended a funeral procession of terrorists or any other individual that caused disorder, what was the purpose of bringing the BRN and Palestinian flags at the gathering – the presence of which was disputed by the accused individuals -, and what is the meaning of terms such as “Patani” and “shahid”, which denotes a martyr in Islam.
On 25 July 2024, the case against the nine activists, including Mr. Muhammad Aladee Dengni, Mr. Hasan Yamadibu, Mr. Sukiplee Kamae and Mr. A Nnas Daereh, was forwarded to the Public Prosecutor’s Office. The nine individuals are facing serious charges, including under section 116 (sedition), section 209 (member of a secret society whose object is unlawful) and section 210 (conspiracy to commit crimes as part of a criminal association) of the Criminal Code. A violation of section 116 of the Criminal Code is punishable by imprisonment of up to seven years. An offense of section 209 and section 210 can be punished, respectively, with 7 to 10 years in prison and a fine and 2 to 10 years and a fine.
On 28 August 2024, Pattani Provincial Public Prosecutor postponed the indictment decision to 26 September 2024, following a request by one of the nine accused individuals due to medical reasons. The Public prosecutor has since then postponed the indictment decision four times: from 26 September to 29 October 2024, to 26 November 2024, to 23 December 2024, and to 23 January 2025.
On 17 January 2025, the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand (NHRCT) published its findings resulting from an investigation into the complaint submitted by civil society relating to the prosecution against human rights defenders, activists, and academia in the Southern Border Provinces, including the case against the nine individuals for organizing and participating in the Melayu Raya 2022 gathering. The NHRCT found that Meyalu Raya 2022 event was a gathering which allowed young people to express their opinion publicly, for which the organizer had requested a permission to hold the event. The NHRCT also found that there was no evidence that the event involved use of force or weapons, incitement, or concealment of information. Therefore, the prosecution of the activists was deemed excessive by the NHRCT and a violation of their human rights, in particular to their right to freedom of expression.[1]
On 23 January 2025, the Pattani Provincial Public Prosecutor has decided to indict the nine individuals, including Mr. Muhammad Aladee Dengni, Mr. Hasan Yamadibu, Mr. Sukiplee Kamae, Mr. A Nas Daereh, charging them for violation of sections 116, 209, and 210 of Thailand’s Criminal Code and the Emergency Decree. They were granted bail with a surety of 70,000 baht each. A preliminary evidence examination hearing has been scheduled for 26 February 2025.
CONCERNS
In the communication, we express our grave concern in relation to the criminal charges levelled against Mr. Muhammad Aladee Dengni, Mr. Hasan Yamadibu, Mr. Sukiplee Kamae, Mr. A Nas Daereh, and five other individuals, which appear to have been in relation to their peaceful participation in Melayu Raya, a Malay-Muslim cultural gathering, on 4 May 2022 in Pattani Province in Southern Thailand. We fear that the charges might be linked to the exercise of their rights to freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly and to freely take part in cultural life, and to the promotion of Malay-Muslim cultural and religious rights.
We are concerned about what seems to be an equation between peacefully expressing and celebrating one’s cultural identity and encouraging sedition or resistance towards the State, which may discourage the legitimate exercise of the rights to freedom of expression as well as to maintain and transmit one’s cultural practices, and to participate in cultural and public life. Such developments might also create a chilling effect on the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly in the Southern Border Provinces of Thailand, an area which has recently seen an increased shrinking of civic space, with human rights defenders, activists, journalists facing judicial harassment and other types of repression for exercising their fundamental freedoms.
The Constitution of Thailand guarantees freedom of expression, freedom of religion or belief respectively under section 34 and section 31. Sections 43.1(1) and 57(1) of the Constitution further provides that everyone shall have the right to “conserve, revive or promote wisdom, arts, culture, tradition and good customs at both local and national levels” and that states shall “conserve, revive and promote local wisdom, arts, culture, traditions and good customs at both local and national levels, and provide a public space for the relevant activities including promoting and supporting the people, community and a local administrative organization to exercise the rights and to participate in the undertaking.” We call on the Government of Thailand to ensure the respect for and the promotion of human rights and fundamental freedom in the country, in line with the national legal framework and international human rights standards.
[1] See: https://www.nhrc.or.th/th/NHRC-News-and-Important-Events/14003.
