<div> <div>Apart from the problem of interpreting the legal meaning of the term ‘defame’ in Article 112, the other problematic term is ‘heir-apparent’. This has been a delicate issue for many years. Documents that will confirm this issue in fighting a case be used for the defense are extremely difficult to access. What is strange is that this is still the case even when we have entered the reign of King Rama X. Prachatai has compiled lèse majesté cases that deal with the status of Crown Princess Sirindhorn.&nbsp;</div> </div>

<div style="text-align: center;"> <div style="text-align: left;">The authorities have repeatedly denied access to a legal document which deals with the question of whether Princess Sirindhorn was an heir apparent to the throne of King Bhumibol, saying that the document could damage the monarchy if published.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: left;">On 12 December 2017, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR)&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="http://www.tlhr2014.com/th/?p=5810">reported</a> that the Office of the Council of State&nbsp;(OCS) had denied their lawye </div></div>

<p>Five teenagers and one adult facing royal defamation charges for burning royal arches in northeastern Thailand have pleaded guilty.</p> <p>On 20 November 2017, the Provincial Court of Phon District in Khon Kaen Province held a preliminary hearing for six suspects indicted for violating Article 112 of the Criminal Code, the lèse majesté law, criminal association, and destruction of public property, according to<a href="http://www.tlhr2014.com/th/?p=5713"> Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR)</a>.</p>

<div> <div>A student activist convicted of lèse majesté has revealed that prison staff ordered him to take off his clothes and rubbed his genitals five times in a search for drugs.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On 16 November 2017, Jatupat Boonpattaraksa, also known as Pai Dao Din, was summoned to Phu Khiao Provincial Court to be tried for violating the 2016 Referendum Act.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Jatupat and another student activist, Wasin Prommanee, were accused of inciting chaos during the junta-sponsored constitutional referendum in August 2016. </div></div>

<p dir="ltr">After being imprisoned for three years and four months, a military court once again postponed a witness hearing for a poet accused of royal defamation.</p> <p>On 15 November 2017, the Military Court of Bangkok postponed the trial for Sirapop (surname withheld for privacy concerns), 53, once again as a witness failed to appear to the court.</p> <p>According to Anon Nampa, human rights lawyer representing the defendant, since he was arrested in June 2014, the court completed only one witness hearing in the case out of 6-7 plaintiff witnesses.</p>

<p>A provincial court has handed down jail terms of two and a half years to 2 suspects accused of royal defamation for attempting to burn a royal arch. &nbsp;</p> <p>On 15 November 2017, the Provincial Court of Phon District in Khon Kaen Province sentenced Nuphin, 64, and Chatchai, 25, (surnames withheld due to privacy concerns) each to five years imprisonment, according to <a href="http://www.tlhr2014.com/th/?p=5673">Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR)</a>. &nbsp;</p>

<p dir="ltr">In what follows below, I offer a concise picture of the dynamics and significance of Article 112 over the preceding decade. Some of the sources cannot be fully cited as it may harm those who provided information or defendants in ongoing cases.</p> <p></p>

<p>The UN has concluded that the detention of two lèse majesté convicts who were each sentenced to more than two decades in jail is arbitrary. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://prachatai.org/journal/2017/10/73768">Thai Lawyers for Human Rights</a>&nbsp;on 19 October 2017 reported that the UN Human Rights Council’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has concluded that&nbsp;<a href="https://prachatai.org/english/node/5397">Sasiwimon S</a>. and&nbsp;<a href="https://prachatai.org/english/node/5170">Tiensutham S</a>., aka. Yai Daengduad, are detained arbitrarily.</p>

<div> <div>A rock singer’s charity campaign has sparked debate over the ethics of donations, while a senior academic is facing a lèse majesté lawsuit for criticising King Naresuan, who ruled the kingdom of Ayutthaya 400 years ago.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Thailand’s lèse majesté law is notorious for its excessive punishments and broad interpretations. </div></div>

<p dir="ltr">"During the past three years, my despair about my country has never reached the depth it did when I learned of the judgment in the case of Pai Dao Din," said Nidhi Eoseewong.</p> <p dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7500/15514383088_8477f9efc0_b.jpg" style="width: 640px; height: 415px;" /></p> <p dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color:#ff8c00;">Nidhi Eoseewong (file photo)</span></p>

<p>An online campaign has been started to call on the Thai authorities to drop a royal defamation charge against a well-known intellectual accused of defaming an ancient Siamese King.</p>

<p><section><section> <p>The Thai government should end all lèse-majesté prosecutions and amend Article 112 of the Criminal Code (lèse-majesté) to bring it in line with international law, a United Nations (UN) expert said on 6 October 2017.</p> </section></section></p>