Thai Prison and Court COVID-19 Update (July 2021)

As Thailand Bail has been reporting on the COVID-19 situation in Thailand and how it affects the prisons and courts in Thailand, we are now updating the situation as of July 2021. Since many people are affected by the postponements, video conferencing, witness availability, prison visitation, and many other aspects, Thailand Bail’s lawyers and staff would like to provide a clear update on the COVID-19 situation here in Thailand. One of the latest updates that we can share is that a major prison in Bangkok has now re-opened for lawyers’ / solicitors’ visitation. The Bangkok Remand Prison has

Thai Courts and Prisons During COVID-19 (April 2021 Update)

As COVID-19 continues to cause disruptions in the daily lives of people in Thailand, it has also (again) caused potential delays for the courts and prisons in Thailand. Currently, we are in the middle of the Songkran (Thai New Year) holiday. However, we have reached out to our contacts at various courts in Bangkok, Pattaya, Koh Samui, Chiang Mai, and elsewhere for comment on the situation. At this time, Thailand Bail has been advised that the Courts of Justice has made an announcement encouraging each court to consider further postponements to cases.

Amnesty December 2020 Announced for Prisoners in Thailand

After months of speculation, the royal amnesty was announced today 04 December 2020. Over the last few months, Thailand Bail had been hearing about the possibility of a clemency to be announced in December 2020, and it is now no longer just a rumour. Our lawyers have obtained a copy of the announcement, and we are reviewing it currently. The royal pardon, as some people refer to it as, is the 2nd one to be announced this year (2020), with the previous amnesty announced in commemoration of the birthday of His Majesty the King. This second clemency is to mark the occasion of the late His Majesty the King Rama 9, whose birthday is 05 December.

Thailand Royal Pardon 2020: Many in Thai Prisons Receive Sentence Reductions

A couple of days ago, an announcement was made that certain prisoners will be eligible for sentence reductions as part of a royal pardon. The most prominent case picked up by the media was that of the 2 Burmese convicted of the murder of 2 foreigners in Koh Tao. However, it is currently understood that the pardon will positively affect many. Some details have been released in Thai language, showing that certain prisoners currently on probation or other alternative sentence will have the remainder of their prison terms commuted.

Thailand Bail COVID-19 Update (May 2020)

Thailand Bail is dedicated to providing updated information on the COVID-19 crisis and how it is affecting lawyers, police, court appointments, prison visits, and other aspects of the legal industry in Thailand. This article is a follow-up to the previous post “Thailand Bail COVID-19 Update (April 2020)” which highlighted how the coronavirus was affecting the courts and prisons in Thailand in April 2020. Since that last update, there have been some updates for the courts and prisons in Thailand, and we will go through those in this article.

Thai Prison – What Life is Like Inside the Bangkok Hilton

If you have ever spent any time inside a Thai prison, you will know how difficult life can be on the inside. There is constant overcrowding, disease, lack of clean food and water, immense heat, lack of access to people outside the prison, occasional violence and death, and other challenges. Whilst some of these aspects are the same in every prison around the world, Thai prisons have certain unique challenges. The Bangkok Hilton, a fictitious name typically associated with the Bang Kwang Prison, has some of the strictest rules of any Thai prison.

Prisoner Transfer Agreements in Thailand – Thailand to Sign 2 New PTA’s in 2020

The lawyers and international case managers at Thailand Bail have helped many people successfully fight their criminal cases in Thailand and avoid prison. But there are thousands of people each year who we do not have the opportunity to work for, and many of these people end up in Thai prison. We receive emails and phone calls each week from friends and family members of foreign inmates who are in one of the many prisons in Thailand. Thailand Bail does offer post-case legal services, and one of the most-requested services is to help foreign prisoners in Thai prisons get repatriated to their home countries. Therefore, today’s post is about prisoner transfer agreements in Thailand and the recent news that Thailand will sign two new prisoner transfer agreements with Malaysia and Ukraine. Please read below for more details about prisoner transfer agreements between Thailand and other countries.

The 3 Things You Must Do If You Get Arrested in Thailand

Our blog post for March 2019 is one that has been requested by many people, so we decided to focus on the 3 things you must do if you get arrested in Thailand. We often tell people that no one plans to get arrested in Thailand, but sometimes things happen. For example, we recently came across a foreigner who had been arrested with his friend for stealing a mobile phone, even though he claimed he had picked it up thinking it was his. A Thai citizen who we recently helped had been over a friend’s house for a visit when the police came in and arrested everyone for some methamphetamine they found on the premises. In Thailand, the Thai police often like to charge accused people jointly, or “ruam-gan” in Thai – to jointly commit a crime. This does not mean that you were caught in the act of doing anything illegal, but it just means that you were in the wrong place at the wrong time in many cases. Getting arrested in Thailand is a stressful event, so we advise you do the following 3 things as quickly as possible.

Thai Prisons Offer LINE Calls for Prisoners and Their Family Members in 2019

Prisoners in Thailand are now eligible for more convenient family “visits” through calls on the popular LINE app. Thailand Bail has seen posters and other information posted at several prisons around Thailand, and the Department of Corrections in Thailand has said that 78% of the prisons in Thailand have already implemented the LINE app calling feature for prisoners and their families. We were able to take a quick photo of the details (in Thai language – please contact Thailand Bail for free details about how to use the LINE app to speak to your family member in a Thai jail or Thai prison in Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya, or elsewhere in the country). This photo was taken at Bang Kwang Prison (also known as Bang Kwang Central Prison) in Nonthaburi, Thailand (just outside Bangkok). Thailand Bail has regular visits to many of the prisons around Thailand, including Bang Kwang Prison. Our lawyers have confirmed that Bang Kwang Prison is one of the Thai prisons taking part of the Thai Department of Corrections program for LINE app calls with prisoners. Thailand Bail knows how long it can take to make a visit to an inmate (we do this regularly), and for family members who are in another city or another country, as many of our clients are, this can be a tremendous help.

Thai Prison Statistics

Thailand Bail’s lawyers and legal advisors make frequent trips to the Thai prisons in almost every province, including Bangkok, Surat Thani (Koh Samui), Chonburi (Pattaya), Rayong, Udon Thani, Chiang Mai, Prachuab Khiri Khan (Hua Hin), Phuket, and others. Many of our clients ask us about Thai prison statistics, so we thought we would share the latest numbers, as of September 2018. According to the Department of Corrections in Thailand, there are a total of 364,288 prisoners who are currently in the various prisons around Thailand. From Bangkok to Chiang Mai to Udon Thani to Phuket and Koh Samui, it is clear Read more