Thailand
Death penalty and prisoners' rights · Archive since 1999
Data card
- Legal status
- Retentionist
- Executions recorded in 2026
- 0
- Executions recorded in 2025
- 0
- First news item in the archive
- JANUARY 1, 1999 · The Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or...
- News items in the archive
- 448
Source: Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026.
Thailand is classified as Retentionist in the Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026. In 2026 the association recorded 0 executions in the country, against 0 the year before. The archive holds 448 news items on Thailand, from 1999 to today.
Latest news
- JANUARY 16, 2002ThailandDEATH PENALTY
Wanchalerm Yoobamrung, the son of a former Thai justice...
Wanchalerm Yoobamrung, the son of a former Thai justice minister went on trial in Bangkok's Central Criminal Court in connection with the murder in 2001 of a policeman in a busy Bangkok nightclub
- JANUARY 16, 2002ThailandDEATH PENALTY
A Bangkok Post editorial said "even capital punishment...
A Bangkok Post editorial said "even capital punishment has proven unsuccessful at deterring drug traffickers
- JANUARY 16, 2002ThailandDEATH PENALTY
The Corrections Department proposed that people convicted...
The Corrections Department proposed that people convicted of petty crimes or crimes committed by accident should be allowed to pay compensation to the victims instead of being sent to jail
- JANUARY 11, 2002ThailandDEATH PENALTY
Execution of death row prisoners by lethal injection...
Execution of death row prisoners by lethal injection will begin in 2003 in Thailand
- JANUARY 6, 2002ThailandDEATH PENALTY
More than 3 million Thais, including students, are...
More than 3 million Thais, including students, are abusing narcotics, Justice Minister Pongthep Thepkanjana said
- JANUARY 1, 2002ThailandDEATH PENALTY
Of the 371 sentenced to death, 247 were convicted on...
Of the 371 sentenced to death, 247 were convicted on drugs charges
- JANUARY 1, 2002ThailandDEATH PENALTY
Capital punishment sentences are mostly commuted under...
Capital punishment sentences are mostly commuted under Royal clemency
- JANUARY 1, 2002ThailandDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty applies in Thailand to heroin or...
The death penalty applies in Thailand to heroin or amphetamine drug trafficking and especially where the prisoner is found guilty after pleading not guilty at the start of their trial
- JANUARY 1, 2002ThailandDEATH PENALTY
It is never known in advance when a death warrant is...
It is never known in advance when a death warrant is to be issued, and executions are performed only once in a while
- JANUARY 1, 2002ThailandDEATH PENALTY
On august 31, 2001, the Criminal Court sentenced 12...
On august 31, 2001, the Criminal Court sentenced 12 men and five women to death on speed smuggling charges in six separate drug cases
- JANUARY 1, 2002ThailandDEATH PENALTY
According to Section 31 of the Constitution, "A person...
According to Section 31 of the Constitution, "A person shall enjoy rights and liberties in his/her life and person
- JANUARY 1, 2002ThailandDEATH PENALTY
Thailand has executed 40 drug traffickers since the...
Thailand has executed 40 drug traffickers since the government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra took office in January 2001
- DECEMBER 18, 2001ThailandDEATH PENALTY
A draft amendment bill to change the method of execution...
A draft amendment bill to change the method of execution from shooting to lethal injection is ready to go before parliament for approval
- DECEMBER 16, 2001ThailandDEATH PENALTY
The Thai Cabinet recently resolved that sentences of...
The Thai Cabinet recently resolved that sentences of execution or life imprisonment for under 18 year olds shall be commuted to 15 years' imprisonment
- DECEMBER 12, 2001ThailandDEATH PENALTY
A riot following a failed jailbreak by death row inmates...
A riot following a failed jailbreak by death row inmates at Narathiwat provincial prison left five inmates dead and two others severely injured
- DECEMBER 11, 2001ThailandDEATH PENALTY
Four convicted drug felons, including a former policeman,...
Four convicted drug felons, including a former policeman, were sentenced to death in two separate cases before the provincial court
- DECEMBER 5, 2001ThailandDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty could be an effective weapon against...
The death penalty could be an effective weapon against corruption, which has become a norm in Thailand, Constitutional Court judge Amorn Raksasat said
- DECEMBER 1, 2001ThailandDEATH PENALTY
Of the 371 sentenced to death, 247 were convicted on...
Of the 371 sentenced to death, 247 were convicted on drugs charges
- NOVEMBER 29, 2001ThailandDEATH PENALTY
Three men were sentenced to death in Bangkok after...
Three men were sentenced to death in Bangkok after being convicted of possessing 400,000 methamphetamine tablets with intent to sell
- NOVEMBER 23, 2001ThailandDEATH PENALTY
Amorn Wanichwiwatana, a criminologist at the Faculty...
Amorn Wanichwiwatana, a criminologist at the Faculty of Political Science of Chulalongkorn University, said several policies broached by the government are poorly conceived and impractical
- NOVEMBER 22, 2001ThailandDEATH PENALTY
The Criminal Court sentenced a Pakistani to death for...
The Criminal Court sentenced a Pakistani to death for possessing about 7
- NOVEMBER 19, 2001ThailandDEATH PENALTY
A proposal to televise the execution of convicted drug...
A proposal to televise the execution of convicted drug traffickers may be shelved, the PM's Office minister who floated it said
- NOVEMBER 19, 2001ThailandDEATH PENALTY
The High Court of Singapore dismissed an appeal by...
The High Court of Singapore dismissed an appeal by a Thai national, who was sentenced to death in August 2001, for the murder of a taxi driver
- NOVEMBER 16, 2001ThailandDEATH PENALTY
Reporters will get a closer look at executions and...
Reporters will get a closer look at executions and more access to death-row convicts, including a close-up look at their warm corpses, if PM's Office Minister General Thamarak Isarangura gets his way
- NOVEMBER 15, 2001ThailandDEATH PENALTY
Executions of major drug traders could soon be televised...
Executions of major drug traders could soon be televised live as a deterrent to other traffickers, PM's Office Minister Thammarak Issarangkura na Ayuthaya said
- NOVEMBER 15, 2001ThailandDEATH PENALTY
Legislation setting penalties for possession and trafficking...
Legislation setting penalties for possession and trafficking in methampethamines was overwhelmingly approved by the House
- NOVEMBER 9, 2001ThailandDEATH PENALTY
The Senate panel on justice and human rights proposed...
The Senate panel on justice and human rights proposed banning members of the public from carrying guns
- NOVEMBER 9, 2001ThailandDEATH PENALTY
Three Ghanaian drug dealers were sentenced to death...
Three Ghanaian drug dealers were sentenced to death by hanging at the Klong Prem prison in Bangkok, Thailand
- NOVEMBER 7, 2001ThailandDEATH PENALTY
A cabinet screening committee approved a draft bill...
A cabinet screening committee approved a draft bill to change the method of capital punishment from firing squad to lethal injection
- NOVEMBER 6, 2001ThailandDEATH PENALTY
The Criminal Court sentenced three people to death...
The Criminal Court sentenced three people to death for possessing 198,000 amphetamine pills with intent to traffic