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Arrested in Thailand

If you are reading this because someone has stopped answering their phone or called from a police station, start with the number at the top of this page. What follows explains what happens next under Thai procedure, what the detained person is entitled to demand, and which mistakes in the first hours cost the most.

What to do right now

This list is first aid, not a substitute for counsel. Call and describe the situation: from there it is safer to act on a lawyer’s assessment than on a general checklist.

  1. Call us and give the city and, if you know it, the name or number of the police station. That is enough to start.
  2. Tell the detained person not to sign anything until a lawyer arrives.
  3. Sign nothing in Thai, even when someone standing nearby is translating and calling it a formality.
  4. Do not admit anything in the hope of being released. Admissions go into the record and are very hard to walk back.
  5. Ask for an interpreter. This is a right, not a favour.
  6. Ask for the consulate to be notified. This is a right under the Vienna Convention.
  7. Do not pay anyone who offers to make the problem disappear on the spot. That is a separate offence, including for you.
  8. Note the time of arrest. Custody deadlines run from that moment.

The first 48 hours

Thai police may detain a person and take them to a station for the record to be drawn up. From there a strict clock runs: without a court order the police may hold someone only for a limited period, after which they must bring the person before a court and apply for detention.

The court grants detention in twelve-day blocks. For serious charges those blocks are extended several times, so a person can be held for a substantial period before charges are formally filed. That is why bail is raised at the very first hearing rather than later.

Conditions and visiting rules differ between provinces, and working them out alone, in a second language, at night, is not a good use of the first day.

Rights of a detained foreign national

  • To be told what they are suspected of, in terms they can understand.
  • To remain silent. Silence is not evidence of guilt.
  • To an interpreter whenever a document is being created.
  • To meet a lawyer in private, before questioning rather than after.
  • To inform relatives and to have the consulate notified.
  • To medical attention, and to have any injuries recorded.
  • To apply for release on bail from the first court appearance.

What we do in the first days

  1. Locate

    Establish which station or remand facility holds the person and under what case number. Relatives abroad usually cannot do this by phone.

  2. Attend

    Meet in private, explain the position plainly, and record what has already happened — what was signed, seized and said on camera.

  3. Stop the drift

    Further investigative steps then take place with counsel present, which changes both the tone and the quality of the record.

  4. Prepare bail

    Assemble documents and security in time for the first hearing rather than two weeks later.

  5. Report to the family

    One channel, one named contact, regular updates in plain language.

The expensive mistakes

  • Signing a Thai-language document to speed things up. That document is usually the admission.
  • Talking to police without counsel in the belief that an explanation will settle it.
  • Trying to arrange a private payment. This turns one case into two.
  • Saying nothing to the family, so nobody starts collecting bail money or documents.
  • Waiting for it to resolve itself. Thai custody deadlines run whether or not anyone is acting.

Frequently asked questions

How long can someone be held without going to court?
Police must bring a detainee before a court shortly after arrest. Detention is then extended by the court in twelve-day blocks, and for serious charges there can be several. The practical conclusion is always the same: the earlier bail is filed, the less time is spent inside.
Will the embassy get them out?
No. A consulate can confirm identity, visit, pass messages to the family and check that the person is being treated properly. It does not appoint lawyers, post bail, or influence a Thai court. Defence is counsel’s job.
Do we really need a lawyer if they have done nothing wrong?
Innocence does not remove the procedure. The case still runs in Thai, on the record made at the station. Most lost cases are lost at the first interview, not at trial.
We are abroad. Can we instruct you from here?
Yes. Engagement, payment and power of attorney can be arranged remotely, and the attorney can attend the same day. More than half of our instructions come from relatives in another country.
What does help at this stage cost?
It depends on the charge, the stage and the city. We give a range on the first call and explain what drives it before you pay anything. The initial phone consultation is free.
Police say a lawyer is unnecessary and it will be sorted tomorrow.
"Tomorrow" in that sentence almost always means a statement signed today. Access to counsel is the detainee’s right and does not require anyone’s agreement.

Practice areas

Need a lawyer right now?

A duty lawyer answers around the clock. If you or someone close to you has been detained, call without waiting for morning: the first hours matter more than the rest of the case.