27-5-2024 (BANGKOK) A Thai court has delivered a two-year prison sentence to opposition lawmaker Chonthicha Jangrew, finding her guilty of insulting the monarchy over a speech she delivered three years ago at an anti-government protest. The controversial ruling, announced on May 27, has reignited concerns over Thailand’s stringent lese-majeste laws, which critics argue have been used to stifle dissent and free speech.
Chonthicha, 31, a member of the popular opposition Move Forward Party, has vehemently denied the charge of royal insult and has been granted bail pending an appeal against the court’s decision, according to her lawyer, Marisa Pidsaya. The court has yet to issue an official statement regarding the sentence.
Thailand’s lese-majeste law, one of the world’s harshest, seeks to protect the nation’s powerful monarchy from criticism, with perceived insults carrying prison terms of up to 15 years for each offense. The law’s application has been a contentious issue, with activists and human rights groups decrying its use to silence political opposition and curtail free speech.
Chonthicha’s conviction comes at a time when her party, the Move Forward Party, which holds the most seats in Parliament, is embroiled in its own legal battles. The party faces scrutiny over a previous plan to amend the royal insult law, which a court ordered it to remove from its manifesto.
According to data compiled by the legal aid group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, which has defended many of those prosecuted under the lese-majeste law, more than 272 individuals have been charged with insulting the monarchy since 2020, with 17 of them currently in pre-trial detention.
The ruling against Chonthicha follows a recent high-profile case in which another Move Forward lawmaker, Rukchanok Srinork, was sentenced to six years in prison earlier this year over social media posts deemed critical of the monarchy.
The court’s decision also comes just two weeks after the tragic death of activist Netiporn “Bung” Sanesangkhom, who passed away in prison while being held in pre-trial detention on charges that included royal insult. According to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, Netiporn had been on a partial hunger strike.
In a separate case on the same day, a Thai court sentenced activist musician Chaiamorn Kaewwiboonpan to four years in jail for insulting the monarchy and violations of the Computer Crimes Act, local media reported. The charges stemmed from Chaiamorn’s act of burning a portrait of King Maha Vajiralongkorn in 2021, an act he admitted to but argued did not constitute a violation of the royal insult law.
