The amnesty bill has been submitted to House Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha for inclusion on the House agenda, with second and third readings expected before the current parliamentary session ends later this month, according to a source.
The legislation, reviewed by a House committee chaired by Pheu Thai MP Natthawut Saikuar, merges three bills that passed their first reading on July 16.
It seeks to extend amnesty for politically motivated offences over a 20-year period, from 2005 to 2025, while explicitly excluding corruption cases, offences causing death or serious injury, and violations of Section 112 of the Criminal Code, the lese-majeste law.
If enacted, the bill would grant amnesty to individuals prosecuted for political offences during this period, erase their criminal records, and terminate ongoing proceedings. Civil cases involving state agencies or state enterprises would also be dropped.
The bill further calls for the establishment of a nine-member committee to review individual amnesty applications. Chaired by the prime minister, the panel would include the justice minister, the permanent secretary for justice, the secretary-general of the National Human Rights Commission, three legal or human rights experts, a civil society specialist in conflict resolution, and the permanent secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office, who would also act as secretary.
Special provisions are proposed for offenders under 18 at the time of their actions, allowing the committee to recommend rehabilitation measures or request courts to suspend proceedings in line with juvenile justice principles.
Chaithawat Tulathon, former leader of the Move Forward Party and a member of the House committee, said the bill reflected the spirit of the three drafts.
He added that committee members from the People’s Party – the successor to the court-dissolved Move Forward – have reserved the right to discuss conditional amnesty for Section 112 cases during the House examination of the bill.
A Senate committee in July said it supported amnesty for young people who may have committed political offences out of recklessness or impulsiveness.
The use of Section 112 was revived in 2020 as youth-led protests against the government of Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha gained momentum. About 280 people, many of them students at the time of the alleged offences, face lese-majeste charges that are still before the courts.
Five amnesty bills were originally proposed but only three were accepted by the House.
The three were sponsored by the United Thai Nation (UTN) MP Wichai Sutsawat, Klatham MP Preeda Boonplerng and Bhumjaithai Party leader Anutin Charnvirakul. The UTN-sponsored draft was used as the primary version for further deliberation.
The two that did not pass were proposed by the People’s Party and a network of civil society groups.