#Milli Reportedly To Be Charged For Criticizing Thai Gov’t For COVID Response

Milli, one of Thailand’s rising hip hop artists, trended on social media yesterday, July 21, after being “called in by the police to hear possible charges related to disinformation,” according to Thai Enquirer.

#Saveมิลลิ (#SaveMilli) is trending on twitter after the young Thai rap star called out the government for their Covid-response. The police has since called her in to hear possible charges related to disinformation.#WhatsHappeningInThailand pic.twitter.com/UD56ty80e7

— Thai Enquirer (@ThaiEnquirer) July 21, 2021

Using the hashtag #Saveมิลลิ (#SaveMilli), social media users and multiple artists and music entities have since voiced out their support to the rap star, whose real name is Danupha Khanatheerakul. Milli shared that she will be reporting to Nang Loeng Police Station at 10 am local time today, saying that she is “encouraged” and “ready to fight.”

ขอบคุณทุกคนที่ซัพพอร์ตน้องนะคะ กำลังใจมาก ล้มหลามจริงๆ หนูโอเคนะฮะ สบายดี เครียดอย่างเดียวคือไม่รู้จะใส่ชุดไรไป ขอบคุณมากๆ พร้อมสู้ฮะ! รักทุกคนที่สุดเลย เบิ้บบู💕 #saveมิลลิ pic.twitter.com/3sV2KKLeMA

— ไอนวยเอง (@millimdk) July 21, 2021

Among those who supported Milli is her label YUPP! and Thai group Rap Against Dictatorship, noting that the young artist has been representing Thailand internationally through her music since breaking out of the music scene just last year with her hit debut, “พักก่อน” (Pakkorn/You Need to Calm Down),” an anti-bullying track which incorporated Isan dialect with Thai LGBTQIA+ slang.

Milli is reportedly the first Thai artist to potentially face serious charges under the country’s Computer-Related Crime Act (CCA) of 2017 (an amendment of the earlier 2007 CCA), which has been criticized for its “ambiguity because of the broad grounds of offenses.”

In a report by Coconuts Bangkok, Chaiwut Thanakamansorn, minister of Digital Economy and Society, said on Tuesday, July 20, that “Actors, celebrities, and influencers are public figures that people love and have faith in, so please don’t use this as a political movement to attack the government, because it’s an act of distorting information and inputing fake news onto social media.”

On the criticisms regarding the government’s pandemic response amid the current outbreak, the minister said, “The government has tried everything in its power to obtain an adequate number of vaccines… We have done everything we can to control the rising cases. But we need everyone’s support and encouragement in combating this disease.”

Thailand has seen an alarming rise in its COVID-19 cases since the outbreak of the U.K. variant in Thonglor district at the end of March, reporting record infections this week.