He may have an unassuming demeanor and a penchant for dressing up like Harry Potter, but human-rights lawyer Arnon Nampa has his country’s establishment quaking. Thailand is the United States’ oldest ally in Asia and has served as a bulwark against more authoritarian neighbors, but its democracy has eroded as ties with China blossom.
[video id=9oZEBxkh ]Arnon has energized young Thais with his demands to strip political power from the historically sacrosanct royal family and shred the military-drafted constitution. As a result, he has been arrested three times in recent months and charged with sedition. But as COVID-19 continues to impact Thailand’s tourism-reliant economy, more young people are joining demonstrations that are already the biggest since the 2014 coup d’état—which experts say is pressuring the military-led government into a corner. “People are sick and tired of living under a repressive regime,” he told TIME late last year. —Charlie Campbell