Prominent Thai Legislator Receives Six-Year Sentence for Alleged Monarchy Disparagement
Prominent Thai lawmaker receives a six-year prison sentence for alleged monarchy insults on social media, as confirmed by Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, a leading advocacy group
Thai lawmaker Rukchanok Srinok, a member of the opposition Move Forward Party, has been sentenced to six years in prison for posting on social media that insulted the monarchy and violated the Computer Crimes Act. The ruling was made by Thailands Criminal Court, and Rukchanok Srinok, 29, was found guilty of lese majeste.
Thailand enforces some of the strictest lese majeste laws in the world. Criticizing the King, Queen, or heir apparent can result in a maximum 15-year prison sentence for each offense, making any discussion about the royal family extremely risky. Those found guilty under Article 112 of Thailand's Criminal Code can face lengthy prison terms, with numerous prosecutions in recent years.
TLHR reported that one of the posts criticized the government's Covid-19 vaccine procurement, which involved a pharmaceutical company connected to the king. Another post was a retweet of a photo from a 2020 protest containing messages that the court deemed to be anti-monarchy. The organization is monitoring Rukchanok's case. Following her bail approval pending appeal, Rukchanok, also known as "Ice," posted on her Facebook page that she had returned to work in parliament and expressed her desire to be the voice for all 112 defendants seeking bail.
Rukchanok gained widespread attention as an activist and vocal opponent of the previous administration led by Prayut Chan-o-cha, a former military general who took control in a coup in 2014, before transitioning to politics in 2023.
Despite Move Forward, her party, receiving the majority of votes in Thailand's May election, the influential conservative establishment in the country blocked the party from taking office due to their efforts to reform the lese majeste laws.
Young people have been at the forefront of extensive demands for significant changes to the governance of Thailand in recent years. In 2020, protests led by the youth broke out all over the country, calling for constitutional and democratic reforms, which included diminishing the military's control in politics and addressing the authority of the monarchy.
Once a forbidden topic, discussions about royal reform and changes to lese majeste have reached a critical juncture following the protests, with individuals becoming more vocal about the monarchy in a public forum, despite the potential legal consequences.
Vacharaesorn Vivacharawongse, the son of Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn, watches as he departs from Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi international airport to return to the United States. This surprise visit to Thailand comes after living abroad for 27 years. The date of the visit was August 14, 2023. (Photo: Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)
The son of the Thai King has indicated his readiness to discuss the country's strict royal insult law as he attends an exhibition on lese majeste. Rukchanok is just one of many individuals, including young student activists and lawmakers, who have been prosecuted under this law since the protests took place.
Human rights organizations have reported that the freedom of expression in Thailand has been threatened since 2020.
According to TLHR, since the beginning of the protests in July 2020, at least 1,930 individuals have faced legal action for their involvement in political gatherings and for voicing their opinions. Shockingly, 216 of these cases involved minors.
At least 259 individuals have faced charges of lese majeste during this period, as reported by the group. In September, Arnon Nampa, a well-known activist and lawyer in Thailand, was handed a four-year prison sentence for lese majeste charges related to a speech he gave in October 2020. Nampa was among the initial activists to openly advocate for reform of the monarchy during the protests.
Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, stated that the prosecution of an opposition member of parliament for two tweets is a grave infringement on free speech and serves as a warning to other outspoken opposition party members to remain quiet. Pearson also urged the Thai authorities to overturn the sentence and to stop prosecuting other cases under the lese majeste law.
Human rights organizations and advocates for free speech have long argued that laws such as lese majeste, the Computer Crimes Act, and sedition are often wielded as political weapons to quell dissent against the Thai government. Additionally, lese majeste charges can be brought forth by any individual, regardless of their direct involvement in the case, including ordinary citizens and government officials.
One individual was accused of "liking" a Facebook page that was considered insulting to the late King Bhumibol and posting a sarcastic photo of his pet dog. In 2021, a Thai woman received a 43-year prison sentence, believed to be the most severe ever imposed, after admitting to sharing critical audio clips of the royal family on YouTube and Facebook.
