A graduate student has been sentenced to three years in prison, with a 2-year suspension, for royal defamation over distributing books containing protest speeches related to monarchy reform in 2021.

Tee (full name withheld), a graduate student at Naresuan University, was charged with royal defamation for allegedly participating in activities organized by NU-Movement, a group founded by Naresuan University students advocating royal reform, during the university’s commencement ceremony on 30 December 2021. One of the activities involved distributing books containing significant speeches from the 2020 protests, about monarchical criticisms, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR).

A summon was issued one year after the incident. Tee said he was initially called as a witness in the case but was instead informed of the royal defamation charge upon his arrival at the Phitsanulok Police Station.

Tee denied the allegation, saying that he only attended the ceremony and went to take photos with friends. He argued that he was asked to help his friends move a box and did not know what was inside it. After that, a man and lecturer approached his friends, asking them to stop the activities. Tee claimed that he assisted in negotiating with the two people, insisting that he did not commit the alleged offence.

The student was a member of the NU-Movement and attended several activities organized by the group, but he insisted that he was not the leader.

According to the police officer, the activities included setting up standees of two well-known people, who were prosecuted under the royal defamation. In addition, a table was also prepared for distributing the books, suggesting that the activities were related to the monarchy. When the books were taken out of the box, the police officer seized them as evidence.

According to the court, some of the contents referred to kings in a derogatory manner. The court asserted that as the defendant and other group members were engaged in activities related to the monarchy, they must have been aware of the book’s contents. The court also identified Tee as a leader of the group. He, therefore, was found guilty of jointly distributing the books.

The court on 29 August sentenced him to three years in prison, reduced to a 2-year suspension as the books were only seen by the police, not the general public.

Tee was charged in 2022, although he did not contribute any content to the book. TLHR notes that the speeches in it were not found to have violated the royal defamation law and the book was never banned.

According to TLHR, Tee was disappointed with the court ruling and felt that evidence from the plaintiff was not completed. He claims that video clips of the activity taken by the police were edited into a short timeline, deliberately targeting him.