A Thai graffiti artist says he is now facing harassment from security officials over anti-government cartoons he has been drawing to draw attention to the missing dissident Wanchalearm Satsakit.
The artist, known by his pen name Headache Stencil, said that security officials had been following him in Bangkok and plainclothes officers had visited his condominium.
When he called the police station to voice his complaint, the police told him that the officers there were to monitor his security and safety.
The case captured public attention and the hashtag #SaveHeadacheStencil was trending on Twitter for the past two days.
“The important thing about Headache Stencil is that this is intimidation towards a dissenter,” said Sunai Phasuk of Human Rights Watch. “He is quite well known in society as being a graffiti artist who criticizes the government and authority.”
“The police were not transparent in the way that they approached him, they did not state what they were doing and would not identify themselves which is concerning,” Sunai told Thai Enquirer.
“We have contact with Headache Stencil and he is concerned he is going be like another Wanchalearm.”
Wanchalearm was abducted from his apartment in Cambodia last month by unknown actors.