Sirikan Charoensiri (also known as June Charoensiri, ) (born 1986) is a Thai human rights attorney. She works with Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) and is one of the legal representatives of the fourteen student activists from the New Democracy Movement (NDM). She has been the subject of harassment and threats from Thai authorities, as well as criminal charges related to her work as a human rights lawyer. She is the first Thai lawyer to have been charged with

sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech or organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, establ ...

by the military junta.

Education

Sirikan Charoensiri was born in Thailand in 1986 and was raised in Yasothon, Yasothon Province. She attended Triam Udom Suksa High School, obtaining a college preparatory education, and then entered law school, graduating from

Thammasat University Thammasat University (TU; ; , ) is a public university, public research university in Thailand with campuses in the Tha Phra Chan area of Bangkok, Rangsit, Pattaya and Lampang Province. , Thammasat University has over 39,000 students enrolled in ...

in 2009. After completing her degree, Charonsiri completed an internship with the

International Commission of Jurists The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) is an international human rights non-governmental organization. It is supported by an International Secretariat based in Geneva, Switzerland, and staffed by lawyers drawn from a wide range of jurisdi ...

and then consulted with the Association for the Prevention of Torture and the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...

on the prevention of torture, human rights concerns regarding the

South Thailand insurgency The Southern Thailand Insurgency (; ) is an ongoing conflict centered in southern Thailand. It originated in 1948 as an ethnic and religious separatist insurgency in the historical Malays (ethnic group), Malay Patani (historical region), Patani ...

and implementation of the Rule of Law Initiative for 2 years. In 2013, she enrolled in a master of laws program at the

University of Essex The University of Essex is a public university, public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, it is one of the original plate glass university, plate glass universities. The university comprises three camp ...

to study

international human rights law International human rights law (IHRL) is the body of international law designed to promote human rights on social, regional, and domestic levels. As a form of international law, international human rights law is primarily made up of treaties, ag ...

Career

Upon completion of her

LL.M A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

, Charonsiri returned to work for the International Commission of Jurists. When the

2014 Thai coup d'état On 22 May 2014, the Royal Thai Armed Forces, led by General Prayut Chan-o-cha, the commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Army, launched a coup d'état, the twelfth since the country's first coup in 1932, against the caretaker government follow ...

occurred, she recognized the need to set up a separate entity to deal with legal matters, as attorneys were being barred access to their clients and the military was arresting people without a warrants, detaining them without charges, and detaining them in secret camps. When she co-founded Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, it was initially created as a counseling hotline. Soon it expanded to a team of human rights lawyers, funded by international advocacy groups to work on violations of human rights. In 2015, Charonsiri obtained the release of

photojournalist Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (suc ...

Anthony Kwan Hok-chun, of the Initium Media organization from

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. Kwan, who had come to Thailand to report on the bombing of the Erawan Shrine, brought protective gear including a

flak jacket The two components of an obsolete British military flak vest. On the left, the ballistic_nylon.html" ;"title="nylon vest. On the right, the 12 layers of ballistic nylon">nylon vest. On the right, the 12 layers of ballistic nylon that provide the ...

and helmet, unaware that the items were controlled under Thai weapon's laws. He was arrested in attempting to return to Hong Kong and his passport was seized. That same year 14 pro-democracy student protesters were arrested in June 2015 and charged with

. Charoensiri and other lawyers representing the students, protested that the students were being tried in a

military court A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the arme ...

. Seven months after the student's arrest, Charoensiri charged with refusal to comply with an official order and concealing evidence. The charges stemmed from her receiving her clients' cell phones when they were arrested and securing them in her car. The following day, she filed a complaint against the police for unlawfully confiscating her car to complete their search. The claim resulted in additional charges being filed against Charoensiri for false allegations against the police. After attending the 33rd general

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. The ...

meeting in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, Charoensiri was issued a summons for additional charges of co-conspiracy and sedition. It was the first time that a lawyer had been charged with sedition by the junta, sparking outcry from international human rights organizations. On 19 May 2017 Sirikan Charoensiri achieved the fourth L4L-Award in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. The award was given to her by Jorge Molano the lawyer from

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

, who won the award in 2015. It was the first time a woman won this award.‘The Voice of Rights’, about lawyers and freedom of expression
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charoensiri, Sirikan 1986 births Living people Sirikan Charoensiri Alumni of the University of Essex Women lawyers Sirikan Charoensiri Human rights lawyers Women human rights activists Recipients of the International Women of Courage Award