57 Facts About Arnon Nampa

1.

Arnon Nampa is a Thai human rights lawyer and activist.

2.

Arnon Nampa is renowned in Thailand for openly criticizing the monarchy of Thailand, breaking the country's taboo.

3.

Arnon Nampa was initially regarded as a prominent human rights defender during his tenure as a human rights lawyer and later accumulated multiple criminal charges due to his active involvement in pro-democracy activism.

4.

Arnon Nampa was detained without trial in 2020 for 24 days but after Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha declared to use all laws including Lese-majeste to the protesters in November 2020, he had been detained for 110 days in first round of remanding.

5.

Arnon Nampa was born on 18 August 1984 in Thung Khao Luang, former Thawat Buri in a family background rich in agriculture in Roi Et Province.

6.

Arnon Nampa studied for secondary education at a top provincial school, Roi Et Wittayalai, gained the nickname "The Little Communist" for his rebellious actions.

7.

Arnon Nampa wrote a poem, papered all over the school's walls to rebuke and criticize teachers and friends that cooperated tutoring on extra private classes.

8.

Arnon Nampa protested and collected a list of students that disagreed with class-time change because it would make rural students miss commuting back to their houses.

9.

Arnon Nampa won the first place in the northeast region for the law questionnaire student competition in that year.

10.

Arnon Nampa joined the 'black shirt' protest led by Giles Ji Ungpakorn.

11.

Arnon Nampa won the first case at Military courts of Thailand which his first client was a drafted military colleague.

12.

Arnon Nampa started lawyer internship in 2007 at EnLAW Thai Foundation by Surachai Trongngam, practicing human rights defend cases such as Sahaviriya steel mill project protests in Bang Saphan District, police crackdown on Thai-Malay gas pipeline project protest, and Charoen Wat-akson assassination-related Bo-Nok and Ban-Krut coal power plant protest, gained him an awareness of problems over human rights violation to people.

13.

Arnon Nampa received a barrister degree from the Thai Bar Association in 2009.

14.

Amid the Centre for Resolution of Emergency Situation, army group that took over the country after the 2010 red shirts crackdown occurring, Arnon Nampa became Sombat Bunngam-anong's the Red Sunday Group's lawyer, named by some media as 'Red Sunday lawyer'.

15.

Arnon Nampa became a lawyer of the monarchy defamation cases because of the political crisis, red shirt activists who disagreed with the 2010 coup were charged with lese-majeste.

16.

Arnon Nampa's early help on the cases were Chotisak Onsoong case, Suwicha Thakor case.

17.

Arnon Nampa's firm helped poor defendant families' welfares and a reparation on other detained red shirts defendants.

18.

Arnon Nampa positioned himself to be a freelance lawyer and receiving cases from TLHR.

19.

Arnon Nampa co-founded the Resistant Citizen group in January 2015 after he organized many experiment protests and the 'Coup Down People Rise 2015' party, a symbolic event at the Democracy Monument on 31 December 2014.

20.

Arnon Nampa was bailed out after being detained one night at Phayathai police station.

21.

Arnon Nampa was charged under a computer crime laws for Facebook messages he posted.

22.

Arnon Nampa's group organized another event in March 2015, 'I Walk Therefore, I Am'.

23.

Arnon Nampa was arrested a second time in 2015, on the train traveling from Bangkok Noi to Rajabhakti Park, led by Siravich of the Democracy Studies Group.

24.

Arnon Nampa was detained in Bangkok Remand Prison on 25 April 2016 by the court prosecution of a military judge advocate, Col.

25.

Arnon Nampa was fined for 200 baht by Pol Col Attawit Saisueb, Deputy Chief of Metropolitan Police Division One.

26.

Arnon Nampa said that the court had no right to order that.

27.

Arnon Nampa denied all charges and believed it was politically motivated against exercising rights to freedom of expression.

28.

Arnon Nampa explained it was contrary to Article 172 of the Constitution because it is not an urgent matter and it is an extension of the military power of the monarchy that would break the democratic system, which normally military power should be under the cabinet executive to be able to check and balance by the National Assembly of Thailand and the Judiciary of Thailand.

29.

Arnon Nampa filed a letter to Prayuth Chan-O-Cha, demanded to explain and investigate the monarchy budget, and urged to distribute a fraction of it to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.

30.

Arnon Nampa reminded protesters to support prisoners convicted under the lese-majeste law, and Tiwagorn Withiton who posted a picture of himself wearing the viral "I lost faith in the monarchy" t-shirt then was forcibly admitted to a psychiatric hospital.

31.

Arnon Nampa called for the dissolution of parliament because of an unfair election and dissolving of the Future Forward Party, for officials to stop threatening citizens, and drafting a new constitution that appointing 250 junta senators to vote for himself to be prime minister.

32.

Arnon Nampa stressed that he wanted to reform the constitutional monarchy, not overthrow, and focusing on the asset transfer from the Crown Property Bureau to the personal belonging of the King.

33.

Arnon Nampa questioned the King's decision to transfer two military units to his command which was not a democratic, constitutional monarchy.

34.

Arnon Nampa accused King Maha Vajiralongkorn of creating unprecedented changes in the constitution.

35.

Arnon Nampa told the media that he spoke candidly, to honor his integrity, the integrity of the audience, and out of respect for the monarchy.

36.

Arnon Nampa gave an interview later that the students wanted to do this before but they asked him to start the movement.

37.

Arnon Nampa told that a reaction from the protesters and the police were thrilled, silent, and worried about him.

38.

In front of more than 1,000 protesters, Arnon Nampa repeatedly gave out a monarchy reform speech again.

39.

Arnon Nampa spent a night in Chanasongkram Police Station, was released on bail in the morning.

40.

Arnon Nampa was regarded as one of the leaders since then.

41.

Arnon Nampa repeated his monarchy reform goal "Unless the monarchy is under the constitution, we will never achieve true democracy," and "the country belongs to the people, not the monarchy".

42.

Arnon Nampa led a mass on the truck from the Democracy Monument.

43.

Arnon Nampa had believed in Thai judicial before, so he decided to study law.

44.

Arnon Nampa believes that someday the court will rethink about it and get back to stand with Thai society.

45.

Arnon Nampa was then taken to the Bangkok Remand Prison.

46.

Arnon Nampa was received a summons for lese majeste in addition to other charges.

47.

Arnon Nampa stated to take a break during New Year's holidays and will continue the rally in 2021 with more escalation.

48.

On 14 January 2021, Arnon Nampa was recognized by the South Korea's May 18 Memorial Foundation by winning the 2021 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights from his human rights legal contribution, anti-authoritarian activisms and his call for the monarchy reform.

49.

Arnon Nampa is the third person from Thailand after Angkhana Neelaphaijit and Pai Dao Din.

50.

Arnon Nampa's lawyers tried to appeal many occasions but all were denied with the same reason by the court.

51.

Arnon Nampa was prosecuted for 21 cases, 11 of lese majeste cases.

52.

Arnon Nampa found it suspicious and there was rumours that they will be sent to hurt or kill.

53.

Arnon Nampa was immediately treated in hospital after he had infected the coronavirus.

54.

On 10 November, the Constitutional Court ruled that Arnon Nampa's speech, calling for reforms of the monarchy in 'Thammasat will not tolerate' rally on 10 August 2020, aimed to overthrow the state and the monarchy in their speeches.

55.

The court ordered him and other protest groups to end all monarchy reform movements, as Arnon Nampa never had a chance to prove the wrongdoing in the court because he had been in the jail.

56.

On 28 February 2022, Arnon Nampa received bails from all courts after he had been detained for 203 days.

57.

Arnon Nampa performed Khlui in Thai activist band Faiyen's 'Farmer' song.