UPDATE: ‘The Wolf Bride’ actors have been freed from prison in Thailand! Thank you to all who participated in the campaign to set them free and made your voice heard.

On February 23, 2015, Patiwat Saraiyaem and Pornthip Mankong, two Thai students, were sentenced to two years and six months in prison apiece for staging a comedic, satirical play at their university. Their performance of “The Wolf Bride”, a story set in a fictional kingdom, resulted in the two being arrested and sentenced on charges of “defaming, insulting, or threatening” Thailand’s King Bhumibol under the country’s Lèse Majesté law.

This comes while Thailand’s military government actively searches for six more students who took part in the play, pursuing the same charges against them. Two have already been forced to flee the country.

Join The Voice Project in calling upon the government of Thailand to release the two imprisoned students and to drop the charges against their fellow artists. Freedom of expression is not a crime, satire is not a crime, and any regime that treats it as such has far more important issues to tackle than the performance of a simple play.