Warong Dechgitvigrom, leader of the royalist-aligned Thai Pakdee Party, yesterday appeared in court to testify in a defamation case brought against him by Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit.  Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat has also filed a similar case.

He said the cases resulted from an incident during an August 2020 political rally in which the pro-democracy movement announced a 10-point proposal calling for a reform of the monarchy.

Warong branded the act as an attempt to undermine and devalue the monarchy and accused Thanathorn and Pita of supporting the movement and thereby supporting an anti-monarchy movement, allegations both of them denied.

According to the subpoena, the case, which relates to defamation by publication, was filed in 2021 and is being tried under Section 328 of the Criminal Code.  It seeks damages of 24,062,475 baht, a number Warong believes alludes to 24 June, B.E. 2475 (1932), the day Thailand transitioned into democracy.

Offences under this Section may be punished with imprisonment for not exceeding two years and a fine not exceeding 200,000 baht.

Warong has denied the allegations and is expected to defend himself in court. He believes the case is an attempt to censor him and that the complainants are being hypocritical.

"Your group likes to claim that others use the law to silence people when in fact it's you who use the law to silence us," he said.

Prosecution evidence has already been heard, with evidence for the defence to follow. The date of the verdict will be announced soon.