Future Forward dissolution, crackdown on youth-led rallies lands Thailand in ‘Not Free’ slot
Thailand’s freedom status has dropped from Partly Free to Not Free among 210 countries and territories in the annual Freedom in the World report collated by Freedom House.
The US-based organisation rates people’s access to political rights and civil liberties, including freedom of expression and equality.
A country or territory’s freedom status is categorised as Free, Partly Free and Not Free, and according to the report, less than 20 per cent of people in the world live in free countries. This is the lowest since 1995.
Of the 210 countries and territories rated, 64 are ranked as Not Free – the highest since 2006.
Thailand only earned 5 out of 40 points for political rights, and 25 out of 60 on civil liberties, or a total of just 30 out of 100, which put it in the “not free” category.
"Thailand’s status dropped from Partly Free to Not Free after due to the dissolution of a popular opposition party that had performed well in the 2019 elections, and the military-dominated government’s crackdown on youth-led protests calling for democratic reforms," Freedom House said.
