Protesters displaying three-finger salute in front of Democracy Monument at August 16 protest.
A Thai court has sentenced Chaiamorn Kaewwiboonpan, also known as Ammy, lead singer of The Bottom Blues, to four years in jail for insulting the monarchy.
The sentence is relating to the 2021 burning of a portrait of the country’s king, which Kaewwiboonpan admitted to doing, although he argued that the act did not violate the royal insult law.
Also in 2021, according to the website Thai Political Prisoners, Kaewwiboonpan was arrested for performing a modified version of the national anthem at a protest in front of the Thanyaburi Provincional Court.
These charges, which are frequently used by the government to stifle dissent, are used under the so-called lรจse-majestรฉ, a crime according to Section 112 of the Thai Criminal Code which states that it is illegal to defame, insult, or threaten the monarch of Thailand (king, queen, heir-apparent, heir-presumptive, or regent).
The well known rapper has regularly used his creative talents to voice his concerns about his oppressive government
Pro-democracy demonstrators marching for Iran in Washington, DC demand Toomaj Salehi’s release, Nov. 12, 2022. (Joe Flood/Creative Commons)
Salehi was essentially convicted of “corruption on Earth” after speaking publicly about the death of Mahsa Amini, his government’s oppression of his people and his song lyrics about poverty, executions and killing of protesters.
The Isfahan Revolutionary Court added further penalties to Salehi’s case which included forbidding him pursuing artistic activities.
In a post by Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of the UN Watch, he shares a statement by human rights ambassadors from all across Europe in which they wrote: “Toomaj Salehi is one of the many powerful voices supporting the peaceful protests following Zhina Mahsa Amini’s death and demanding freedom and rights for women and girls in Iran.”
BREAKING: European Human Rights Ambassadors Condemn Death Sentence Against Iranian Rapper Toomaj Salehi
โWe, the European Human Rights Ambassadors, strongly condemn the death sentence of songwriter and rapper @OfficialToomaj in Iran.
Via Amnesty International’s page you can sign your name and send a letter to the Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, urging the Iranian government “that his execution sentence, his prison sentence, and his artist ban all be voided, and that he be immediately and unconditionally released, as he is detained solely for the peaceful exercise of his human rights including his right to freedom of expression.”
Russian singer Monetochka (Liza Gyrdymova), who lives in exile after the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine started in February 2022, released a song in honor of the International Women’s Day titled โMom Has a Secret.โ
All of the women featured in the video for the song, as well as Monetochka herself, are mothers but also high profile and vocal activists who oppose the war and the current Russian regime.
She taught me how to play dominoes, Fixed the wheel on my scooter. And stood in the cold at the Kremlin, With an indecent and ambiguous poster. My mom can’t come to Chechnya. And it’s bad to joke around in front of grandma. But you can’t put my mom in jail. Because I’m still just a little kid.
The released video features journalists Katerina Gordeeva, who has her own popular opposition YouTube video channel and currently lives in exile, Anna Mongait, a journalist for Russia TV Rain, banned in Russia, TV host Tatiana Lazareva who had also, as other women from the list, expressed her firm anti-war stance and lives in exile, and Pussy Riot member Nadya Tolokonnikova who spent several years in prison and is strongly against war and Putin’s regime. It shows very popular actresses Chulpan Khamatova who features in a lot of anti-war videos and plays, currently in exile, Varvara Shmykova, who also has anti-war stance and had to leave her career and country because of it, and Maria Shalaeva who was detained at the opposition rally together with her son and had to leave Russia. The video includes politician Yekaterina Duntsova, who tried to run against Putin in the upcoming elections and has an anti-war stance (she is still in Russia), lawyer Mari Davtyan, who fights against domestic violence in Russia, and Yulia Vanalnaya, the widow of opposition politician Alexei Navalny.
Nadya Tolokonnokiva with her daughter. The poster says I will come to a protest, so they would let mommy go. Screenshot fromย YouTube videoย on the Monetochkaย YouTube video channel.ย Fair use.
Over the past two years, many new stories have emerged about strong, brave, and intelligent women opposing war and death. I know there are many of them not only in this clip but also among my listeners. Not all stories receive widespread public attention, but each one undoubtedly makes the world a better place. We are strong, we can fiercely protect our families, fearlessly fight for our country, and support each other like sisters โ that’s what I’ve learned about women in recent years. I am happy to be one of you, I am happy to be โjust like all the other girls,โ because the other girls are simply amazing. Happy March 8th, I love you, support you, and look up to you.
The video currently has over 800,000 views on Monetochka’s official YouTube channel.
As Radio Liberty reported, Monetochka had spoken out against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and left Russia in the fall of 2022. In January 2023, the Russian Ministry of Justice added Monetochka to the list of so-called foreign agents. The department mentioned that she was raising money for Ukraine. The singer commented on her inclusion in the list on Telegram with the words โoh yes!!!โ
Monetochka also made it to the government list of banned musicians. In February 2024, it was reported that officials from the Administration of the President of Russia issued promoters and producers with an updated list of banned musicians. It now includes 77 Russian artists and bands.
This article was written by Daria Dergacheva and originally published on the Global Voices website on 27 February 2024. It is republished here under the media partnership between Global Voices and Shouts โ Music from the Rooftops! and a CC BY 3.0 Deed license.
