Human rights lawyer and activist Anon Nampa now faces over 16 years in prison after he was found guilty of royal defamation and violation of the Computer Crimes Act for writing and posting a letter to King Vajiralongkorn on his public Facebook account on 8 November 2022.

The Criminal Court ruled that the content of the letter caused a misunderstanding among the public that the King was violating democratic principles, overexpanding his powers, and using too much of the taxpayer’s money. The Court ruled this to be defamatory towards the King and that it would cause hatred against him.

The letter mentioned the King’s royal prerogative, which has been given emphasis in the 2017 Constitution. It was posted during a protest on 8 November 2022, when protesters marched from the Democracy Monument to the Grand Palace and wrote letters to the King to demand monarchy reform.

4 other activists were charged with royal defamation in connection to the protest: Parit Chiwarak, Panussaya Sithijirawattanakul, Panupong Jadnok, and Chonticha Jangrew.

The Court sentenced Anon to 3 years in prison for royal defamation. His sentence was later reduced to 2 years because he gave useful testimony, to be served consecutively to his other prison sentences.

Anon has faced a total of 12 royal defamation charges This is the fifth guilty verdict against Anon, who is now facing a cumulative prison sentence of 16 years, 2 months, and 10 days. Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) said that Anon could now be moved to Klong Prem Central Prison, which holds detainees facing prison sentences of over 15 years.