Political activist Somyot Prueksakasemsuk apologized for sexual assault allegations but disputed claims he was in a consensual relationship with the accuser, who says no relationship ever existed.
Thai political activist Somyot Prueksakasemsuk has apologised to a woman identified as "A" following allegations of sexual assault, but a social media page that published an interview with the woman has rejected his account of their relationship.
Somyot, 64, posted an apology on Facebook on 22 August, saying he had believed A had consented to his actions but acknowledged that this was not how she described what happened.
He said A later moved in with him and that they were in a relationship for two years. He described the relationship as deteriorating during its second year before they eventually separated. He also said the pair had agreed to keep their relationship private.
The Socialgaze page, which published an interview with A, later responded to Somyot's statement, saying the woman had never been in a relationship with him or agreed to date him.
The page also disputed Somyot's claim that A had wanted their relationship kept secret, saying it was Somyot who allegedly asked for secrecy because he feared others would find out about his actions.
Socialgaze characterised the allegation as rape and an abuse of power, rather than a consensual romantic relationship, and accused Somyot of attempting to portray the incident as consensual.
The page said that after its initial publication, several other people had contacted it to share accounts of allegedly similar approaches, while others had described what they said was a repeated pattern of behaviour over several years. Socialgaze alleged that A was not the only victim.
It also called for greater public understanding of consent and unequal power dynamics, particularly between older and younger people and within activist movements.
"'No' means 'no'," the page said, arguing that the incident should not be reframed as a relationship between two people if no such relationship existed.
Somyot's statement said: "I apologise to A for misunderstanding and thinking on my own that A had given consent, but that was not the case as A told me."
He also apologised to others who had been upset by his actions and said he would accept the consequences.
The allegations have drawn renewed attention because they are not entirely new. Khaosod English reported in 2017 on allegations of sexual harassment involving Somyot, citing women's rights activists and former colleagues who said they had heard accounts of his conduct toward women.
At the time, Somyot did not directly deny the allegations, instead questioning how sexual harassment was defined and saying that public discussion of the issue was important.
Somyot is a veteran labour and political activist who became known for campaigning for workers' rights and democratic causes. He was previously imprisoned under Thailand's lese-majeste law and became a prominent figure in calls for reform of the legislation.
