Cover photo: Khon Klom Khon Liem FB page

A Thai cartoonist has been charged with royal defamation for royal caricatures posted on a Facebook page.

On 8 January, Tum (first and last name withheld), a 46-year-old cartoonist, appeared at the Central Investigation Bureau to acknowledge charges of royal defamation and violating the Computer-Related Crime Act after he was accused of being the administrator of a satirical FB page Khon Klom Khon Liem (คนกลมคนเหลี่ยม), which contained content featuring four satirical cartoons of royal figures.

The complaint against Tum was filed by Raphiphong Chaiyarat, a member of the ultra-royalist group People’s Centre to Protect the Monarchy, on 18 June 2022.

After investigating, the Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) concluded that Tum was the page administrator and issued a summons for him on 18 July 2022. Tum was initially charged over two FB posts but received an additional summons on 8 January 2024, resulting in charges over four posts.

Among the cartoons in question, two depicted events related to the deaths of King Rama VIII and King Rama IX, without any content related to the current reign.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported that on 7 January, around 10 police officers visited and searched Tum’s residence and seized his mobile phone and tablet. They also seized copies of his ID card, house registration, bankbook, and notebook.

Despite not having an arrest warrant, the police took Tum to the TCSD, where they instructed him to take photos with the confiscated devices and sign a document confirming the items. His SIM card was later returned to him, and he received a summons on the same day.

According to TLHR, this is Tum’s second case involving political expression. In 2016, he was prosecuted for involvement in tearing up ballots at the referendum on 7 August. Following a court hearing, he and two others were sentenced to 6 months in prison and fined 6,000 baht. The sentence was reduced to 4 months and a 4,000 baht fine because of their useful testimony.