Gwangju Rights Groups Seek Release of Detained Activists in Hong Kong and Thailand
Two South Korean human rights organizations have called for the immediate release of three Gwangju Prize laureates detained in Hong Kong and Thailand, warning that their cases reflect a broader regional crisis for democracy and civil liberties.
Two South Korean human rights organizations called Sunday for the immediate release of three prominent activists detained in Hong Kong and Thailand, linking their cases to wider concerns about democratic freedoms across Asia.
The May 18 Memorial Foundation and the Network of Laureates of the Gwangju Prize for Human Rights issued a joint statement supporting Hong Kong lawyer Chow Hang-tung and Thai activists Arnon Nampa and Jatupat Boonpattararaksa. All three are past recipients of the Gwangju Prize for Human Rights.
The organizations said the detentions reflect a crisis of democracy in Asia. They also expressed solidarity with people working to defend democracy and human rights in Thailand, Hong Kong and Myanmar despite imprisonment, violence and restrictions on fundamental rights.
Jatupat, a Thai activist, received the Gwangju prize in 2017. Arnon, a Thai human rights lawyer, was honored in 2021. Both are being held in Thailand. Chow, a Hong Kong human rights lawyer who received the award in 2023, remains detained in Hong Kong.
The statement places the three cases within a regional network built around the legacy of South Korea’s own struggle for democracy. The Gwangju Prize was established in 2000 to promote the spirit of the May 18 pro-democracy uprising, a pivotal event in the country’s modern political history.
In May 1980, citizens in the southwestern city of Gwangju protested against military rule. The ensuing military crackdown killed more than 200 civilians and injured about 1,800 others. The uprising later became a powerful symbol of South Korea’s democratization movement and remains central to the country’s human rights advocacy.
By honoring campaigners from outside South Korea, the prize has extended that legacy into broader Asian civil society. The latest appeal shows how organizations rooted in Gwangju continue to use the city’s historical experience to draw attention to present-day restrictions elsewhere in the region.
The two groups did not announce any new legal or diplomatic initiative in connection with the detainees. Their statement instead centered on an immediate demand for the three activists’ release and a public declaration of solidarity with rights defenders operating under pressure across Asia.