'We Won't Sit and Watch:' Mothers of Jailed Thai Activists Call for Their Release 

Bound by unconditional love for their children and anger at the Thai state, the mothers of pro-democracy protesters detained for weeks without bail for allegedly defaming the royal family are keeping vigils outside the prison where their loved ones are being held.  

The vigils come as Thailand’s turbulent political landscape is rocked once more by a youth-driven protest movement demanding reforms to the entire power structure, including the previously untouchable monarchy, headed by King Maha Vajiralongkorn.  Protests which drew tens of thousands late last year fizzled after key leaders were arrested, many under multiple charges of breaking the lèse-majesté law, better known as “112,” the harsh defamation measure which protects the palace from criticism.  Each conviction under Section 112 of the Thai criminal code carries between three and 15 years in prison.