Two more Thai activists sentenced to prison for lese majeste – The Diplomat

Thailand has sentenced two other opposition figures to lengthy prison terms for insulting the monarchy, although both have been released on bail pending appeal, in an apparent break with recent practice.

At a hearing yesterday, judges at the Thanyaburi Provincial Court in Pathum Thani province, north of Bangkok, sentenced Move Forward Party (MFP) parliamentarian Chonthicha Jangrew to two years in prison for a speech which she delivered at an anti-immigration rally. government protest in 2021. The 31-year-old denied the charges and was released on bail pending an appeal, her lawyer told Reuters, allowing her to keep her parliamentary seat.

Chonthicha rose to prominence during major public protests in 2020 and 2021, marked by open criticism of the Thai monarchy and calls for reforms aimed at curbing its power and suprapolitical prerogatives. She was later elected to parliament with the MFP in Pathum Thani, in the party's surprise victory in last year's general election. (The MFP was later blocked from forming a government by the military-appointed Senate.)

Chonthicha, nicknamed “Lookkate,” is among dozens of protest leaders and participants who have been charged under Article 112 of the country's penal code, also known as the lese majeste law, which criminalizes critical comments about the monarchy. The advocacy group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights estimates the death toll from “Article 112” at around 270 people, most of them students who participated in the 2020-2021 protests.

Her lèse-majesté charge related to a speech she gave in September 2021, criticizing the government's decision to give King Vajiralongkorn more power to control the Crown Property Bureau, a vast repository of royal wealth. As the Associated Press reported, the judge said her speech “risked misinforming the public by suggesting that King Vajiralongkorn could spend taxpayer dollars for his personal use and use his influence to interfere in politics, which could tarnish his reputation.”

Also yesterday, another court sentenced musician activist Chaiamorn Kaewwiboonpan, 35, to four years in prison for burning a portrait of the king, Reuters reported. Chaiamorn also denied the accusation and said he set fire to the portrait to express his frustration over the detention of his fellow activists under Section 112. He was also released on bail pending an appeal.

The fact that both defendants were released on bail is remarkable. Furthermore, in a third judgment rendered yesterday, another monarchy reform activist, Tantawan “Tawan” Tuatulanon, 22, was released on bail after his pre-trial detention. The charges relate to an incident in February in which Tantawan broadcast a scene on Facebook Live showing her arguing with police officers who were blocking cars as a royal motorcade passed by. Tantawan also faces lese majeste charges for conducting public opinion polls on royal processions in 2022.

Although bail is not uncommon in the Thai justice system, it is often denied in politically sensitive lese majeste cases. The advocacy group Human Rights Watch recently criticized the Thai government's “use of arbitrary arrests and pretrial detention to punish critics of the monarchy.” Indeed, a number of activists in pre-trial detention have started hunger strikes to protest the conditions of their internment, including Tantawan, who in January 2023 asked a judge to revoke his bail as a sign of solidarity with other activists accused of lèse-majesté.

The sudden apparent generosity of Thai courts in granting bail is likely linked to the May 14 death of activist Netiporn “Bung” Sanesangkhom, who participated in a partial hunger strike while in pretrial detention for accusations of lese majeste. The group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights said yesterday that Tantawan was also sent to a hospital outside the prison earlier this month due to her poor physical condition. This followed his hospitalization for a hunger strike following his imprisonment in early 2023.