A pro-democracy activist has been sentenced to nearly three years in prison for royal defamation after throwing dog food at an image of the King. The activist was later granted bail pending appeal.

A number of People’s Party MPs and former Move Forward Party (MFP) MPs said that they have received summonses from the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) regarding an ethics probe over their submission of a bill to parliament proposing amendments to the royal defamation law. If found guilty of an ethnics breach, they could be banned for life from standing for election.

The Appeal Court has overturned a not guilty verdict on activist Nutchanon Pairoj and sentenced him to prison for royal defamation over a book of speeches given by protest leaders in 2020. He was later granted bail.

The Supreme Court has sentenced a 30-year-old woman to six years in prison without suspension for royal defamation over Facebook posts. In this case, neither the woman nor her lawyer had been notified in advance that the Court would render the verdict.

A 22-year-old graphic designer and activist who was charged with royal defamation for holding a protest banner during a car mob on 15 August 2021 has had his case dismissed.

Thailand’s continuous use of lèse-majesté laws to detain and imprison activists and human rights defenders is gravely concerning, a group of UN experts* said today, urging authorities to repeal or significantly revise the country’s criminal code in line with human rights standards.

A 26-year-old artist has been sentenced to three years in prison for royal defamation after posting an image of the King and other royal family members on his Facebook account.

Although the royal defamation law does not cover deceased kings, the Thai Appeal Court has sentenced a 24-year-old to two years in prison for a social media post deemed critical of the late King Bhumibol.

A 56-year-old activist has been sentenced to two years in prison without suspension for royal defamation stemming from live-streaming she did on Facebook while participating in a protest in 2022.

A 33-year-old man has been sentenced to one year and six months in prison without suspension for royal defamation for raising his middle finger and a 3-finger salute at the King and Queen’s royal motorcade on 2 May 2022.

Mongkhon Thirakot, an activist and online clothing vendor from Chiang Rai, has been charged with three more counts of royal defamation for Facebook posts made between May – September 2022.

Four years after the beginning of the student-led pro-democracy protests in 2020, many activists and protesters are still facing charge resulting from their participations in the protests, especially royal defamation charges. As the number of those detained pending trial or appeal for charges relating to political expression continue to rise, some young activists have chosen to seek asylum overseas.