Man bags 35 years in prison for insulting Thailand monarchy on Facebook
A Bangkok military court today jailed a 34-year-old man for insulting
royal family on social media, according to a watchdog, it was one of the
harshest sentences handed down for a crime that insulates Thailand's
ultra-rich monarchy from criticism.
Wichai, whose last name was withheld to protect his family from
ostracisation, was convicted of ten counts of lese majeste for sharing
photos and videos of the royal family that he allegedly shared on
Facebook that purported to belong to a different user.
He was accused of using the account to slander a former friend, said iLaw, a group that tracks royal defamation cases.
A Thai legal watchdog group, iLaw, told AFP that Wichai was originally
facing a 70-year sentence ten years for each count but his sentence was
reduced because he confessed to the crimes after spending a year in jail
waiting for his trial.
Thailand's lèse-majesté law is believed to be one of the strictest law
in Thailand, a law meant to protect the royal family from being defamed,
but is often used to suppress dissent. Violators can be sentenced to up
to 15 years in prison, and complaints can be made by anyone, against
anyone, at any time.
In another story, a criminal court sentenced another lese majeste
suspect to 2.5 years in jail for uploading an audio clip from an
underground political radio show that was deemed insulting to the
monarchy.
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