A 31-year-old man has been sentenced to one year and six months in prison for Facebook posts criticising the monarchy.  However, he was subsequently placed on parole for a two year period.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reports that on 7 November 2023, the Kamphaeng Phet Provincial Court delivered a verdict in the case of Paul (first and last name withheld), 31, who was indicted under the royal defamation law and the Computer-related Crime Act over Facebook posts he made in 2021.

The court found Paul guilty of violating both laws, committing multiple offences with a single act. His sentence was based on the law with the heavier penalty, resulting in a three year prison sentence. Due to his guilty plea, this was reduced to one year and six months.

In his testimony, Paul acknowledged that he should have been more restrained with his posts. As he did not appear to pose a threat to society and had never been imprisoned, the court placed him on parole for two years, requiring that he report to a probation officer four times and perform twenty-four hours of social services.

The complaint was filed on 19 February 2022 by a person unknown to Paul. As a result of the charges, he resigned from his full-time job and became a freelancer.

Paul was indicted on 23 August 2023. According to the indictment, he posted a message on Facebook, stating “You Fucked wite Wrong Generation” (sic). Another message criticised Royal Initiative Projects.  The last raised questions about King Vajiralongkorn's behaviour.

Deemed to constitute royal defamation, the messages were held to have been written with malicious intent, leading to a loss of respect for the King. Paul’s actions, putting the messages into a computer system, were also construed as an offence related to national security under the Criminal Code.

The court initially denied bail, saying that the case had an impact on national security and the defendant constituted a flight risk. It later granted bail with 150,000 Baht as security.

According to TLHR, this is the fifth instance where a member of the general public has filed royal defamation charges involving the posting of messages on social media at various police stations in Kamphaeng Phet Province.  All five defendants pleaded guilty and the court granted them parole.