A pro-democracy activist has been sentenced to prison for surveying public perceptions of the King. She was later granted bail pending appeal.

Nutthanit “Baipor” Duangmusit, along with two other activists, was charged with royal defamation after they conducted a poll surveying public perception of the power of the King in 2022, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.

The activity was carried out on 28 April 2022 at on the BTS Skytrain system between Mo Chit and Sanam Pao stations. The activists carried a poster that posed the question “Do you agree or disagree with the government allowing the King to exercise power at his discretion?” Members of the public were given stickers to cast their votes.

Now-deceased activist Netiporn Sanesangkhom also faced the charge. She had previously been detained over other royal defamation cases. One case involving a poll at Siam Paragon on royal motorcades led the court to revoke her bail. She then started a hunger strike, which ended with her death while in detention. The other activist involved in the case, Suphitcha Tanyakan, is currently in exile.

The public prosecutor stated that Nutthanit and two other activists were responsible for a post on the Facebook page of the monarchy reform group Thaluwang announcing the activity, and that they proceeded to carry out the activity as announced.

The Criminal Court stated that no evidence confirmed that they were responsible for the post as alleged. However, they were present at the scene and participated in the activity as announced on Facebook, showing that they had an intention to insult the King, which constituted a violation of the royal defamation law.

The Court ruled to sentence Nutthanit to three years in prison. However, at the time of the incident, she was still a university student and also engaged in voluntary activities. The term was reduced to two years without parole. She was later granted bail pending appeal.

This is the third royal defamation verdict against Nutthanit. The first case stemmed from her Facebook posts regarding the royal budget, for which the court sentenced her to four years in prison without suspension.

The second case arose from her participation in reading a statement during the “WHAT HAPPENED IN THAILAND” activity while marching toward the APEC 2022 summit at the Asok intersection on 17 November 2022. In this case, the court sentenced her to two years ' imprisonment. She was later granted bail in both cases.