Student activist said his rejection from Amnesty youth board was due to conservative Thai police document

Student activist Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal said on Thursday that the reason he was disqualified from joining Amnesty International’s Youth Board Member last year was partly because of an internal Thai police report which said he engaged in ‘unsuitable behavior.

Amnesty International Thailand, as a Thai registered association, must submit new board members to the Bangkok registration office. Netiwit’s application was rejected by the registrar in 2018.

His, and Amnesty’s, appeal to the Ministry of Interior was rejected in 2019.

The alleged police document leaked to Netiwit this week outlines four points regarding his ‘unsuitable behavior’ from when he was in high school to his time at Chulalongkorn University.

The four points are:

  • Unsuitable behavior that breaches Thai etiquette and culture
  • Non-cooperation with military conscription in accordance with the law
  • Leading and/or participating in a protest that would harm Thai diplomatic relations
  • Actions against provisions and litigation

“[On Thursday], I received the documents which showed that Special Police Branch were investigating me,” Netiwit told Thai Enquirer.

Thai Enquirer contacted the Deputy Spokesperson of the Royal Thai Police, Kissana Pattanachaoren, regarding Netiwit’s claims but Kissana said he was unaware of any such document and would investigate the matter.

Amnesty International Thailand declined to comment on this issue.

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