Arnon Nampa Honored with Prestigious Human Rights Award While Detained
On May 22nd in Dublin, Ireland – Prominent Thai human rights lawyer and activist, Arnon Nampa, has been named the 2025 Asia and the Pacific recipient of the prestigious Annual Front Line Defenders Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk. The award ceremony, held in Dublin, highlighted Arnon’s unwavering commitment to justice and human rights in Thailand, even as he remains imprisoned.
The Front Line Defenders Award, established in 2005, recognizes the extraordinary courage and contributions of human rights defenders (HRDs) who often face significant personal risks in their fight for the rights of others. It serves to amplify their voices and bring international attention to their crucial work.
A Symbol of Resilience Behind Bars
Arnon Nampa was unable to receive the award in person. He has been held in detention at the Bangkok Remand Prison for over 605 days, facing charges under Section 112 (lèse-majesté) of the Thai Criminal Code – a law frequently criticized for its use in suppressing dissent.
Ms. Pathomporn, representing Arnon’s family, accepted the award on his behalf. She delivered a powerful message from the detained activist, a letter filled with gratitude and unyielding resolve.
A Message from Arnon Nampa
It is a profound honor and deeply moving to receive this prestigious award. More than that, I feel immensely empowered for the road ahead—a path shrouded in darkness, echoing with the roars of demons that bear the name of the old order.
My friends and I were born and raised in the old order, like birds born and raised in a cage. Our ancestors were oppressed and deceived by outdated and irrational beliefs. The power of the old order created propaganda to indoctrinate us—and often coerced us—into believing that human beings are not born equal, but that one group of people is destined to rule while others are born to be ruled.
Our ancestors tried to rise up and challenge those beliefs. They worked to carve out a new path and push for change, time and again—sometimes falling, sometimes rising—but their efforts never ceased, never faded. The struggle against the old order has been passed down, generation by generation, until it has reached our time.
Today, efforts to challenge the old order are taking place across the world. In an era where oppression grows ever more brazen, expanding its reach to erode human dignity and suppress freedom of expression and resistance in all its forms, there is a concerted effort to drag us back to the old world—and to prevent a new one from ever taking shape.
In my country, too, freedom of expression is strictly forbidden. Repression is routine—ranging from killings and enforced disappearances to arbitrary charges, imprisonment, political disenfranchisement, and the systematic silencing of those who do not conform to the old order. And yet, we do not submit.
In 2020, we rose up under the name Ratsadon 2020 to carry forward the struggle of our ancestors. Political demonstrations and online expression spread widely and boldly, driven by the belief that freedom and equality can only be achieved through resistance. That uprising awakened people in my society. It shattered the illusions constructed by the old order—illusions used to blind and oppress us. Through this struggle, we have grown stronger. Every wound has hardened our resolve. Every fall has made us steadier on our feet.
This award is not a medal to pin on the wings of a bird—it is the wind beneath them, the force that lifts us as we soar toward victory. Come then! Come, all obstacles—all the threats and roaring voices—come at us! We will fight, and we will end this struggle in our generation!
With gratitude, conviction, and faith.
Arnon Nampa
Bangkok Remand Prison
8 May 2025
Hear More from Arnon: Letters from Prison
Arnon Nampa continues to advocate for human rights through his writings from prison. The Article 112 Project, part of the Justice in Southeast Asia Lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has been translating these powerful letters from Thai into English.
You can delve deeper into Arnon’s thoughts, experiences, and calls for justice by reading these translated volumes:
- Volume 1: https://seasia.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/1794/2023/12/Justice-in-Translation-Letters-from-Prison-Volume-1.pdf
- Volume 2: https://seasia.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/1794/2024/02/Justice-in-Translation-Letters-from-Prison-Volume-2.pdf
Arnon Nampa’s recognition by Front Line Defenders serves as a vital reminder of the ongoing struggle for human rights and democracy in Thailand and the immense courage of those, like Arnon, who lead the charge despite facing severe personal consequences.
