A Thai court sentences an opposition lawmaker to 2 years in prison for defaming the monarchy

BANGKOK– A Thai court on Monday sentenced a lawmaker from a progressive opposition party to two years in prison after finding her guilty of defaming the monarchy in a speech she gave during a protest rally three years ago.

Chonthicha Jangrew of the Move Forward Party was greeted by several supporters when she arrived at the Thanyaburi Provincial Court in Pathum Thani province, north of Bangkok, with some party colleagues. Chonthicha, popularly known by her nickname “Lookkate”, represents a constituency in Pathum Thani.

His charges stem from his 2021 speech in which he demanded the release of all political prisoners during a demonstration outside the same court that handed down Monday’s sentence.

She was found guilty for parts of the speech about how the government then led by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha had amended laws to give King Vajiralongkorn more power to control the palace wealth, which is managed by the Crown Property Office .

The judge said her speech could misinform the public by suggesting that King Vajiralongkorn may spend taxpayers’ money for his personal use and use his influence to interfere in politics, which could tarnish his reputation.

The judge originally sentenced her to three years in prison, but reduced it to two years due to her cooperation in the trial. The law for defaming the monarchy, a crime known as lese majeste, carries a penalty of three to 15 years in prison. It is widely known as article 112 because of its place in the Penal Code.

Chonthicha was later released on bail of 150,000 baht ($4,100). Had she not been granted bail and been sent straight to prison, she would have been immediately removed from her seat in Parliament.

He told reporters he was not surprised by the verdict since most of the 112 charges led to convictions.

She said she would appeal, adding that she was glad she had been granted bail but wanted other political prisoners to be granted the same right.

A young activist accused of lese majeste died in detention earlier this month after carrying out a month-long hunger strike to protest the revocation of her bail in January.

Chonthicha and nine other defendants in the case were charged with other crimes, including unlawful assembly and violation of an emergency decree enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. All 10 were acquitted of those charges. Chonthicha was the only one accused of violating the lese majeste law.

Before becoming a politician, Chonthicha had been an activist since she was a university student. She became a leading figure in the youth-dominated movement by clashing with police during massive street protests demanding democratic reforms of several powerful institutions, including the monarchy.

Chonthicha, 31, won a seat in last year’s general election, part of a surprise victory for the progressive Move Forward Party that shook Thai politics.

However, he failed to seize power after the party was overtaken by influential conservative forces, as members of the Senate refused to approve the party leader as prime minister.

Criticism of Thailand’s monarchy is considered taboo, and insulting or defaming key members of the royal family is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

But student-led pro-democracy protests began challenging that taboo in 2020, openly criticizing the monarchy. That led to vigorous prosecutions under what was previously a little-used law. Critics say the law is often used as a tool to crush political dissent.

Advocacy group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights says that since the beginning of 2020, more than 270 people, many of them student activists, have been charged with violating Article 112.

In December, another Move Forward Party lawmaker was convicted and sentenced to six years in prison for two posts she allegedly shared two years ago on the social media platform X, then known as Twitter. She appealed and was granted bail.