Although the royal defamation law does not cover deceased kings, the Thai Appeal Court has sentenced a 24-year-old to two years in prison for a social media post deemed critical of the late King Bhumibol.

“Jai,” (pseudonym), a 24-year-old, was charged in February 2021 with royal defamation and violation of the Computer Crimes Act for tweeting a picture of the late King Bhumibol along with the caption “You do not have to remember who I am. Just remember what I did,” according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.

The complaint was filed by Aree Jiworarak for the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society. Aree testified that a hashtag led to a post on X (formerly Twitter) that described Bhumibol as “… not a king but a dead murderer.”

Jai was indicted in November 2021 for the post and for promoting the view that monarchs should not exist in Thai society.

The indictment stated that her messages not only defamed the late King but also affected his son, King Vajiralongkorn.

She was sentenced to three years in prison, but as she was 19 years old at the time she committed the offence her sentence was reduced to two years in prison without suspension. She was allowed bail with 100,000 baht as security.

She plans to appeal the case on the grounds that the royal defamation law only applies to the current King and that her messages did not refer to King Vajiralongkorn.  In recent years, the law has been so widely interpreted that anyone can be charged with it and anyone can file a complaint.

Witnesses in the case were divided on whether the law covers the late kings.

The Court on 21 January ruled to uphold the initial verdict and sentenced her to two years in prison without suspension.   

She was subsequently allowed bail with 100,000 baht as security.