Human rights lawyer and activist Anon Nampa now faces 18 years in prison after he was found guilty of royal defamation and sedition over a protest speech during a 3 August 2020 protest.

The Criminal Court ruled that the content of Anon’s speech was defamatory toward the King by accusing the King of interfering with the constitutional amendment. The Court stated that the King is highly revered and cannot be violated, saying the plaintiff's witness testimony was sufficient for the court to make a decision, making it unnecessary to examine the defence witnesses.

Even if freedom of expression is protected by the Constitution, the Court noted that the exercise of freedom of expression must not conflict with public order and morality or violate the freedoms of others. The Court stated that Anon defamed the King and incited unrest and disaffection, encouraging the public to violate the country’s laws on the grounds that he invited the people to listen to his speech.

He was found guilty under the royal defamation and sedition laws. His actions also constituted multiple offences under the royal defamation law.

Anon was initially sentenced to four years in prison, but the sentence was reduced to two years and 8 months in prison due to his useful testimony. This sentence is to be served consecutive to five prior sentences

The royal defamation charge in this case stems from Anon’s protest speech during a 3 August 2020 protest, known as the “Harry Potter protest.” This was the first time Anon directly delivered a speech about the role of the monarchy and called for monarchy reform. A part of his speech referred to the King’s travel to Germany and the monarchy’s budget.

Anon faced charges under the royal defamation and sedition laws, as well as the Computer Crime Act, Public Assembly Act, Emergency Decree, and Sound Amplifier Act. However, the Court dismissed charges under the last four laws.

The King’s travel documents were needed to verify Anon’s speech. However, the Court refused to summon those documents. It was reported that the documents had previously been requested for use in the case of Anon's speech at Sanam Luang on 19 July 2020, but the court did not issue a summons on that occasion either.

Controversy over the evidence in question arose on 27 November when the hearing was conducted in secret. The Court also prohibited publication of detailed information from the witness hearing. Meanwhile Anon rejected the defence examination, objecting to the Court’s decision.

Anon has faced a total of 12 royal defamation charges This is the sixth guilty verdict against Anon, who is now facing a cumulative prison sentence of 18 years, 10 months, and 20 days.