<p>A factory worker has been sentenced to 6 years in prison on charges of royal defamation and violation of the Computer Crimes Act over two of 7 Facebook posts made in late 2020 &ndash; early 2021.</p>

<p>A hardline royalist activist launched a legal action on Monday against an opposition party for voicing concern during a recent parliamentary debate over the indiscriminate use of the royal defamation law.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Police filed a fresh charge of royal defamation against a monarchy critic who took a swipe at a recent court ruling, a civil rights lawyer group said, while a politician faced a criminal complaint for referencing the political crisis in Sri Lanka.&nbsp;</p>

<p>From 9.00 &ndash; 17.00 for the past three days, activists and members of the public stood in front of the UN headquarters in Bangkok to protest against the denial of bail for detained activists and to demand that UN agencies pay attention to the Thai authorities&rsquo; violation of civil and political rights.</p>

<p>A digital artist was arrested at her home on Thursday&nbsp;(30 June) on a royal defamation charge, after charges were filed against her for a portrait of King Vajiralongkorn published on Instagram in September 2021.</p>

<p>The activist group 24 June Democracy has demanded that the Ministry of Justice investigate a prison doctor&rsquo;s alleged harassment of Nutthanit (last name withheld), or &ldquo;Baipor,&rdquo; a monarchy reform activist currently detained pending trial on a royal defamation charge, while the Department of Corrections claims no harassment took place.</p>

<p>Punyaphat (last name withheld), a 29-year-old man with a mental illness, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for posts he made in the Facebook group Royalist Marketplace about King Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida&rsquo;s popularity and the King&rsquo;s trips to Germany.</p>

<p>As the number of individuals charged with royal defamation passed 200 in just over 18 months, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) call on the Thai government to end the prosecution, arrest, and detention of individuals exercising their freedom of expression and to amend the royal defamation law&nbsp; to bring it into line with Thailand&rsquo;s human rights obligations under the ICCPR.</p>

<p>Piyabutr Saengkanokkul, former lecturer at Thammasat University&rsquo;s Faculty of Law, former Future Forward MP and current Secretary-General of the Progressive Movement, has been charged with royal defamation for several posts he made on social media.</p>

<p>Three online influencers were arrested yesterday (16 June) and charged with royal defamation for taking part in an online sales campaign which allegedly made fun of members of the royal family.</p>

<p>Monarchy reform activist Sopon Surariddhidhamrong, who has been held in pre-trial detention on a royal defamation charge, was granted bail and released yesterday (31 May).</p>

<p>Monarchy reform activist Tantawan Tuatulanon has been granted bail after spending over a month in pre-trial detention on royal defamation charges, while the Court once again denied bail for activist <a name="_Hlk104499712">Sopon Surariddhidhamrong</a>, also held in pre-trial detention on a royal defamation charge.</p>