Senate Approves Amnesty Bill With Youth Article 112 Protections

The Senate passed the draft amnesty bill with 103 votes on June 30, 2569, during a session chaired by Deputy Senate President Bunsong Noisophon. The special committee led by Pol. Col. Chatrawat Saengphet completed its review of the draft Social Reconciliation Promotion Act in both stage 2 and stage 3 readings. The committee's majority made several amendments, including adding a preamble, revising four specific articles, and updating the bill's appendix.

During stage 2 deliberation, the Senate approved the committee's changes, notably adding a new clause to Article 11 regarding minors accused of crimes. The new provision stipulates that Article 112 offenses—related to insulting the monarchy—are explicitly excluded from amnesty consideration for juveniles.

Senator Ratchaneekon Thongtip raised concerns about whether the amended appendix might inadvertently create amnesty loopholes for election-related crimes. Pisit Abiwatpongpong, serving as committee secretary, clarified that the appendix contains 29 laws and the committee merely reorganized them by legal precedence without altering their substance. He emphasized that the provision on Senate member qualifications is unrelated to electoral fraud and that no senators are amnestied regarding such cases, which remain under the Election Commission's purview.

The final vote showed 103 senators in favor, 3 opposed, and 22 abstaining. The Senate also agreed with the committee's recommendation that the Social Reconciliation Promotion Committee should propose penal management guidelines to the Justice Ministry and Department of Corrections for individuals convicted of political expression crimes who are not amnestied, supporting Thailand's broader peace-building goals through rehabilitation and democratic principles.