<p>Individuals accused of insulting the monarchy are paying astronomical sums of money &ndash; sometimes in the millions of baht &ndash; to secure their freedom while their cases are ongoing, a practice that one law scholar said could amount to violating the constitutional right to a fair trial.</p>

<p>The military prosecutor has indicted two embattled anti-junta critics under the lèse majesté law for allegedly defaming the Thai monarchy in a private Facebook chat.</p> <p>Staff of the of the Military Judge Advocate General's Office on Tuesday, 2 August 2016, officially indicted Harit Mahaton and Natthika Worathaiwich for offences under Article 112 of the Criminal Code, the lèse majesté law.</p> <p>The two are accused of defaming the Thai monarchy in private correspondence via Facebook chat.</p>

<div> <div>Harit Mahaton, a fiction and fantasy writer and ramen shop owner from Khon Kaen, was arrested and placed in military detention on 27 April 2016 for violating Article 116 of the Criminal Code (sedition) by allegedly working with others to make a Facebook page ridiculing the current prime minister in Thailand. While he was in detention, he was further accused of violating Article 112 (lèse majesté) in relation to a private Facebook conversation. After one night in military detention, he was transferred to the Bangkok Remand Prison, where he remained until being granted bail on 8 July 2016. This essay was first published on his personal Facebook page in Thai.</div> </div>

<p>If you think being a political prisoner in Thailand is already a nightmare, being an ordinary prisoner can be worse. A junta critic, accused of lèse majesté, has shared an experience after being rejected from visiting his cellmates just because they do not have a same surname.</p> <p><img alt="" src="https://scontent.fbkk5-5.fna.fbcdn.net/t31.0-8/s960x960/13603828_1068155469939211_5092692340048842351_o.jpg" /></p>

<p dir="ltr">The Military Court has granted bail to Thai junta critics who have been accused of lѐse majesté after their arrests.</p> <p dir="ltr">The Military Court of Bangkok on Friday, 8 July 2016, refused the sixth custody requests from the police to continue to detain Harit Mahaton and Natthika Worathaiwich, suspects under Article 112 of the Criminal Code, the lѐse majesté law, and granted 500,000 baht bail for each of the suspects.</p>

<p>Despite faint hopes, the parents of two Facebook users initially arrested for mocking the junta leader and later charged with lѐse majesté have requested the Office of His Majesty’s Principal Private Secretary to allow bail for their children.</p>

<div>Harit Mahaton, a man accused of sedition and lèse majesté -- very serious crimes that could land him in prison for decades -- has a distinct character. He has great interest in literature because, to him, it is a form of freedom.&nbsp;</div> <p></p>

<p dir="ltr">The Military Court has detained two of <a href="http://www.prachatai.org/english/category/the-eight-abducted-junta-critics">the eight junta critics </a>and another political dissident charged under the lѐse majesté law.</p> <p>The Military Court of Bangkok at 3:30 pm on Wednesday, 11 May 2016, granted custody permission to the police to detain Harit Mahaton and Natthika Worathaiwich, suspects of offences under Article 112 of the Criminal Code, the lѐse majesté law. &nbsp;</p>

<p>The Military Court has detained two of&nbsp;<a href="http://www.prachatai.org/english/category/the-eight-abducted-junta-critics">the eight junta critics&nbsp;</a>and another political dissident after they were charged under the lѐse majesté law.</p> <p>The Military Court of Bangkok at 3:30 pm on Wednesday, 11 May 2016, granted a police request to detain Harit Mahaton and Natthika Worathaiwich, suspects under Article 112 of the Criminal Code, the lѐse majesté law. &nbsp;</p>

<p dir="ltr">After the Military Court released the eight junta critics charged for sedition on bail, police detained two of the eight again as they have been charged of lѐse majesté. &nbsp;</p> <p>The police, at around 5:20 pm on Tuesday, 10 May 2016, detained Harit Mahaton and &nbsp;Natthika Worathaiwich, suspects under Article 116 and Article 112 of the Criminal Code, the sedition and the lѐse majesté law.</p>