The Appeal Court has found activist-turned-People’s Party MP Piyarat Chongthep guilty of royal defamation for putting up banners criticising the government’s Covid-19 vaccine procurement in 2021.

An activist-turned MP has been acquitted of a royal defamation charge over a speech he delivered at a 22 August 2020 protest in Ubon Ratchathani province. He faced three royal defamation charges, all of which resulted in acquittals.

Activist-turned-MP Piyarat Chongthep from the People’s Party has been acquitted of a royal defamation charge stemming from a social media post in which he allegedly criticised the amount of taxpayer money spent on the monarchy while complaining about a police crackdown on a 31 December 2020 protest.

Activist-turned-People’s Party MP Piyarat Chongthep has been acquitted of a royal defamation charge over putting up banners criticising the government’s Covid-19 vaccine procurement.

Activist-turned-Move Forward Party MP Piyarat Chongthep has filed a request with the Kalasin Provincial Court calling for the repeal of a 1 July court order ending witness examination in a royal defamation trial against him on the grounds that the order makes the trial unlawful. He also requested that the court re-schedule the hearing.

<p>Although it&rsquo;s now common for royal insult defendants to be freed on bail, their freedom often comes with vague conditions like bans on joining protests that could lead to &ldquo;chaos&rdquo; or doing anything that &ldquo;damages&rdquo; the monarchy. Experts question whether these conditions may violate the rights to free expression.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Members of the We Volunteer protest guard group filed a lawsuit at the Civil Court on 26 August against the Thai police for wrongful arrest, after they were arrested on 7 December 2020 while <a href="https://prachatai.com/english/node/8955">clearing away razor wire left by the police at the uruphong intersection</a>.</p>

<p>Four people currently facing royal defamation charges and detained pending trial have been granted bail: activists Jatupat Boonpattararaksa and Somyot Prueksakasemsuk, and two other people who were previously detained at prisons in Chiang Mai.</p>

<p>Activist Piyarat &ldquo;Toto&rdquo; Chongthep was immediately re-arrested on a royal defamation charge under Section 112, Thailand&rsquo;s lèse majesté law, after he was granted bail on a criminal organization charge and released from Bangkok Remand Prison.</p>

<p>Parit &lsquo;Penguin&rsquo; Chiwarak, a student activist who has been advocating monarchy reform, has received a police summons for violating Section 112 of the Criminal Code and the Computer Crime Act. A list from a police source shows charges against 11 more activists are expected to follow.</p>

<p>A court in Bangkok has sentenced an anti-junta activist to four months in prison for tearing up his ballot paper during the referendum on the junta-sponsored 2017 Constitution, but later halved and suspended the jail term.</p> <p>On 26 September 2017, Phra Khanong Provincial Court sentenced Piyarat ‘Toto’ Chongthep, an anti-junta activist, to four months in prison and a 4,000 baht fine.</p>

<p>An anti-junta activist has accused AIS, one of Thailand’s biggest mobile phone service providers, of unlawfully revealing private information about him.</p> <p>Piyarat ‘Toto’ Chongthep, an anti-junta activist, told the media during his trial on 14 June 2017 at Prakhanong Provincial Court in Bangkok that AIS illegally gave private information about him to the authorities.</p> <p>He said that during the trial, an AIS staff member who was called to testify revealed information about his whereabouts and of two other accused, including mobile banking information before and after 7 August 2016.</p>