Fortify Rights

Ensuring #Rights4All by investigating violations 🔍, engaging people with power 🤝, & strengthening human rights defenders & communities 💪.

[Fortify Rights @FortifyRights]

NEW: Thailand’s Court of Appeal is scheduled to deliver its verdict on November 2 in the criminal defamation case against human rights defenders @AngkhanaNee, @PuttaneeKangkun, and @KwanSaleepholT, seven years after the case was filed by Thammakaset Company Limited.

@FortifyRights calls for their acquittal and urges #Thailand to end the criminalization of peaceful human rights work.

“Urgently decriminalizing defamation and stopping unfounded legal lawsuits against journalists and human rights defenders must be a priority for the Thai government,” said @bouckap, Senior Director at @FortifyRights.

Read full news release: https://t.co/cQ1wsBhe80

[Fortify Rights @FortifyRights]

What led to the #Rohingya genocide in #Myanmar—and how long had the persecution been unfolding?

@FortifyRights’s investigations from 2014 to 2022 document decades of state-led persecution, violence, and systematic efforts to destroy the Rohingya.

https://t.co/R2jcwSI26E

[John Quinley III @john_hq3]

Our team @FortifyRights has joined with human rights groups @TruthHounds, @FIDH and @amnesty in welcoming the opening of a separate criminal investigation by Ukraine’s Office of the Prosecutor General into Russia’s predatory recruitment of foreign nationals to fight in its illegal war against Ukraine.

https://t.co/XDshk3mME1

[Fortify Rights @FortifyRights]

In an op-ed for @DailyWaadaa, @Miraajripon and @john_hq3, Director at @FortifyRights, examine how #Russia’s war has fuelled a trafficking crisis affecting Bangladeshi men. They urge #Bangladesh to ensure that trafficking survivors can return home safely.

According to the UN Commission of Inquiry on #Ukraine, nationals of 29 countries, including Bangladesh, have been trafficked into the Russian armed forces.

https://t.co/FhXv94xhAS

[Fortify Rights @FortifyRights]

#Malaysia’s new refugee registration provides some legal status to refugees. However, it suffers from several flaws, including movement restrictions, limited rights, and a slow registration pace thus far.

To provide long-term protection for refugees, the country must amend the Immigration Act to codify refugee status and asylum procedures.

https://t.co/3waPwjynfG

[Fortify Rights @FortifyRights]

🇹🇭 Today, #Thailand’s human rights record is under review at the UN Human Rights Council as part of the Universal Periodic Review.

In its submission, @FortifyRights documents ongoing arbitrary arrests and detention of refugees, torture, and forced returns to Myanmar and China. We urge Thailand to uphold its human rights commitments and protect refugees from refoulement.

Read our submission: https://t.co/nosLzMn67d
Read our news release: https://t.co/Vgw4t8l3kP

[Fortify Rights @FortifyRights]

Joshua Wong @joshuawongcf’s 10-year prison sentence is another blow to freedom and democracy in Hong Kong.

In a new op-ed in @spectator, @FortifyRights Senior Director @BenedictRogers explains what Wong’s imprisonment reveals about Beijing’s crackdown on #HongKong’s pro-democracy movement and the continuing struggle for freedom.

#FreeJoshuaWong

https://t.co/v2BUM5tJms

[Fortify Rights @FortifyRights]

🇭🇰 NEW: Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong @joshuawongcf has been sentenced to 10 years for calling on the Chinese Communist Party to uphold its promises to respect human rights and allow greater democratic participation in #HongKong.

@FortifyRights calls for his immediate and unconditional release.

“He has merely called on Beijing to uphold its promises set out in the Sino-British Joint Declaration and Hong Kong’s Basic Law. That deserves respect, not imprisonment, and he should be freed without delay,” said @FortifyRights Senior Director @BenedictRogers.

#FreeJoshuaWong #JoshuaWong #Rights4All

https://t.co/xg7PambeAs

[Fortify Rights @FortifyRights]

🧵3/3

[Fortify Rights @FortifyRights]

🇹🇭 Seven years after the case began, Thailand’s Court of Appeal has upheld the acquittal of three human rights defenders—Angkhana Neelapaijit, Puttanee Kangkun, and Thanaporn Saleephol—on all 30 counts of criminal defamation brought by Thammakaset. 🧵1/3

Learn more 👇

[Fortify Rights @FortifyRights]

🧵 2/3

[Fortify Rights @FortifyRights]

The ICJ will deliver its judgment on Nov 19 in The Gambia’s case against #Myanmar over the #RohingyaGenocide.

Rohingya survivors deserve a judgment that recognizes the gravity of the atrocities they faced & opens pathways for accountability & reparations.https://t.co/uxNFlLTXsX

[Fortify Rights @FortifyRights]

🇲🇾 #Malaysia’s new refugee registration provides some legal status to refugees. However, it suffers from several flaws, including movement restrictions, limited rights, and a slow registration pace thus far.

To provide long-term protection for refugees, the country must amend the Immigration Act to codify refugee status and asylum procedures.

https://t.co/3waPwjynfG

[Fortify Rights @FortifyRights]

While #Bangladesh has every reason to demand accountability and transparency from Saudi Arabia over the execution of two Bangladeshi workers, it must also confront its own use of the death penalty.

“Bangladesh cannot credibly advocate for the lives of its citizens facing execution abroad without addressing the death penalty within its own borders,” writes @john_hq3, Director at @FortifyRights.

https://t.co/XdVgjytmqp

[Matthew Smith @matthewfsmith]

On Nov 19, I’ll be in the courtroom at the ICJ in The Hague w/ The Gambia and #Rohingya colleagues as the Court delivers its judgment in the historic Rohingya #genocide case. Seven years after The Gambia took the historic step of seeking justice, we remain hopeful. @FortifyRights

[Fortify Rights @FortifyRights]

As Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing inaugurated the Thanlyin Refinery, which has the capacity to refine jet fuel, 14 human rights groups, incl. @FortifyRights, called on the E.U. to urgently close a sanctions loophole that allows European companies to continue working on oil and gas projects in #Myanmar.

https://t.co/YWTIBdcOua

[Fortify Rights @FortifyRights]

As Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing inaugurated the Thanlyin Refinery, which has the capacity to refine jet fuel, 14 human rights groups, incl. @FortifyRights, called on the E.U. to urgently close a sanctions loophole that allows European companies to continue working on oil and gas projects in #Myanmar.

https://t.co/YWTIBdcOua

[Fortify Rights @FortifyRights]

🇹🇭 #Thailand’s Court of Appeal acquitted three women human rights defenders in a #SLAPP suit by Thai conglomerate Thammakaset.

The criminal defamation case began in 2019 after @AngkhanaNee, @PuttaneeKangkun, and @KwanSaleepholT shared social media posts supporting migrant workers who reported poor working conditions and called for the withdrawal of prior complaints against human rights defenders.

Yesterday, the court ruled that their posts were good-faith expressions of opinion protected under citizens’ rights, intended to express moral support, and did not criticize the company.

“We should never have faced criminal charges for speaking out about workers’ rights,” said @PuttaneeKangkun, Director of @FortifyRights and one of the defendants.

“Today’s ruling brings enormous relief, but it can’t return the seven years we spent defending ourselves. Thailand should decriminalize defamation so that others do not have to endure what we did.”

Read more: https://t.co/4aVuDiVyOd

#Rights4All #SLAPP #HumanRights #Thailand

[Fortify Rights @FortifyRights]

🇹🇭 NEW: ศาลอุทธรณ์ของไทยยกฟ้องนักสิทธิมนุษยชนหญิงทั้งสามรายในคดีหมิ่นประมาทบริษัทธรรมเกษตร

เจ็ดปีนับจากเริ่มต้นคดี ศาลอุทธรณ์พิพากษายืน เป็นการยกฟ้อง อังคณา นีละไพจิตร พุทธณี กางกั้น และธนภรณ์ สาลีผล ในความผิดฐานหมิ่นประมาททางอาญาทั้ง 30 กระทง ที่ฟ้องโดยบริษัทธรรมเกษตร จำกัด

“คดีนี้แสดงให้เห็นชัดเจนว่าเป็นการฟ้องเพื่อกลั่นแกล้ง ทำให้ผู้ถูกฟ้องได้รับความเสียหายทั้งร่างกายและจิตใจ...ดิฉันหวังว่าผู้พิพากษาในคดีจะไม่เซ็นรับรองให้โจทก์ฎีกาเพื่อให้คดีถึงที่สุด” อังคณา นีละไพจิตร สมาชิกวุฒิสภาของไทย กล่าว

"[คดีนี้]อาจนำไปเป็นตัวอย่างได้กับคดีหมิ่นประมาทคดีอื่น ๆ ที่มีลักษณะเป็นการฟ้องปิดปาก" ธนภรณ์ สาลีผล อดีตเจ้าหน้าที่ฝ่ายสื่อสารฟอร์ตี้ฟายไรต์

“คำตัดสินในวันนี้ทำให้เราโล่งใจอย่างมาก แต่ก็ไม่สามารถคืนเวลาเจ็ดปีที่เราต้องใช้เพื่อการต่อสู้คดีกลับมาให้เราได้ ประเทศไทยควรเลิกเอาผิดทางอาญาต่อความผิดฐานหมิ่นประมาท เพื่อป้องกันไม่ให้บุคคลอื่นต้องประสบกับชะตากรรมเช่นเดียวกับเรา" พุทธณี กางกั้น ผู้อำนวยการฟอร์ตี้ฟายไรต์กล่าว

อ่านเพิ่มเติม https://t.co/Jg2xHnQ74m

[Fortify Rights @FortifyRights]

🇹🇭 NEW: #Thailand’s Court of Appeal upholds the acquittal of three human rights defenders in the Thammakaset defamation case.

Seven years after the case began, the court has upheld the acquittal of Angkhana Neelapaijit, Puttanee Kangkun, and Thanaporn Saleephol on all 30 counts of criminal defamation brought by Thammakaset Company Limited.

“This case clearly shows how the lawsuit has been used to harass and intimidate people … I hope the judges will refuse to certify the appeal to Supreme Court, so that this case can finally come to an end,” said @AngkhanaNee, a Thai senator.

"[This] could serve as an example for other defamation cases that are #SLAPP suits," said @KwanSaleepholT, a former Fortify Rights Communications Associate.

“Today’s ruling brings enormous relief, but it can’t give us back the seven years we spent defending ourselves. Thailand should decriminalize defamation so that others do not have to endure what we did,” said @PuttaneeKangkun, Director at @FortifyRights.

Read more: https://t.co/Jg2xHnQ74m

[Fortify Rights @FortifyRights]

ผ่านมา 7 ปีนับตั้งแต่เริ่มคดี และ 3 ปีหลังจากที่ศาลชั้นต้นพิพากษายกฟ้อง ในวันที่ 2 พฤศจิกายน เวลา 9.00 น. นี้ ศาลอุทธรณ์นัดฟังคำพิพากษาในคดีของอังคณา นีละไพจิตร, พุทธณี กางกั้น และธนภรณ์ สาลีผล ซึ่งถูกฟ้องร้องโดยบริษัทธรรมเกษตร จากการโพสต์ข้อความที่เป็นการให้กำลังใจกัน
#Thailand #HumanRightsDefenders

รับชมคลิปอธิบายเกี่ยวกับ SLAPP 👇