The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) stated that Khao Bin Central Prison's refusal to allow inmates who have not shaved their beards to see doctors or visit relatives amounts to an excessive punitive restriction of rights.
At 14:00 on 13 Mar 2026 GMT+7, Mr. Boonkeua Samnuek, advisor to the NHRC, disclosed that the Commission received a complaint in August 2025 from an inmate at Khao Bin Central Prison, Ratchaburi Province. The inmate reported suffering pain in the waist and nerve endings since October 2024 and had been consulting doctors via telemedicine continuously. In May 2025, during a period when the inmate refused to shave his beard for personal beliefs, he experienced severe waist and back pain. The prison medical facility arranged for a telemedicine consultation and medication follow-up, but the prison officers denied him access to the doctor. Additionally, when the inmate was scheduled to visit relatives via the LINE application, prison officers also prohibited him from doing so. The inmate viewed these actions as violations of prisoner rights and requested an investigation.
The NHRC investigated all parties involved, relevant laws, and human rights principles, concluding that the inmate, as a prisoner, has the right to receive public health services when ill on the same standard as the general public without discrimination. This right is guaranteed and protected by law, obliging the state to provide or facilitate necessary medical treatment according to the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand, 2017.
The investigation found that when the inmate was to leave the prison premises for a telemedicine consultation, prison officers ordered him to shave his beard before leaving. The inmate did not comply, so the officers denied him permission to leave. This action was in line with the Department of Corrections regulations on the authority and duties of prison officers and the appointment of assistants, B.E. 2561 (2018), Sections 15(5) and 16(2), to control prisoner discipline, as well as Khao Bin Central Prison's rules on prisoner external movements, B.E. 2566 (2023), Section 3, which requires prisoners leaving the premises to have neatly shaved beards.
However, considering the impact on the inmate's right to medical treatment, the harm to the inmate outweighed any benefit to the prison. Denying the inmate medical consultations and medication affected his health and, if his illness worsened, could threaten his life. Thus, barring the inmate from seeing a doctor for this reason constituted an excessive restriction of rights and conflicted with the United Nations' minimum standards for the treatment of prisoners. This matter is therefore considered a human rights violation by action or omission.
Regarding the inmate's denial of visits with relatives via the LINE app, the NHRC noted that prisoners' right to visitation is part of their freedom of communication as guaranteed by the 2017 Constitution and related laws. Denying visitation or communication must be based on disciplinary violations against prison rules. Although the inmate's refusal to shave violated Department of Corrections hygiene regulations for prisoners, the Khao Bin Central Prison commander had not issued a formal disciplinary penalty forbidding visitation or communication following procedures set by the Corrections Act B.E. 2560 (2017) and the Prisoners' Disciplinary Procedures Ministerial Regulation B.E. 2563 (2020).
Therefore, the refusal by prison officers to allow the inmate to visit relatives was a punishment not in accordance with legal procedures and inconsistent with the United Nations' minimum standards for prisoner discipline, which require disciplinary actions to comply with legal conditions. This issue is also recognized as a human rights violation by action or neglect.
For these reasons, the NHRC, during its meeting on human rights protection and promotion on 10 Mar 2026 GMT+7, resolved to recommend that the Department of Corrections investigate the actions of Khao Bin Central Prison officers related to these incidents and take appropriate measures to prevent further human rights violations of this nature. The NHRC also urged all prisons and correctional facilities to permit inmates with scheduled medical appointments to leave the premises for treatment.
Additionally, the NHRC recommended that Khao Bin Central Prison review and amend its rules on prisoner external movements, B.E. 2566 (2023), Section 3, to specify that "Prisoners leaving the premises must wear a light blue shirt and dark blue pants or as the prison determines, and have hair cut and beard shaved neatly, except in cases of illness and scheduled medical appointments."