The Supreme Court has sentenced a 28-year-old man from Sa Kaeo province to one year and six months in prison on a royal defamation charge filed against him for commenting on a picture of King Vajiralongkorn posted in the monarchy reformist Facebook group Royalist Marketplace.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported on Tuesday (13 May) that the Supreme Court upheld an initial verdict sentencing Panithan (pseudonym) to prison for royal defamation over a comment he posted on the Facebook group Royalist Marketplace.

Arrested at work in May 2022 on charges of royal defamation and violation of the Computer Crimes Act, he was pressured to sign an arrest record stating that he confessed to all charges, before being taken to the Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) headquarters in Bangkok for questioning.

According to TLHR, the police convinced Panithan to confess by telling him that they would remove a part of his message to make his sentence lighter. He was questioned without a lawyer present.

On 24 November 2022 the court ruled that he had committed a serious crime by injuring the King’s reputation and sentenced him to four years in prison. Due to his guilty plea, the term was reduced to two years. As he has a family to care for and had no previous criminal record, Panithan decided to appeal the case after the initial verdict was reached.

On 6 December 2023, the Appeals Court, did not overturn his conviction but reduced his sentence to one year and six months without suspension  because the defendant had briefly ordained as a monk to make merit for Her Royal Highness Princess Bajrakitiyabha. In response, Panithan decided to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Prior to his sentencing on Tuesday, Panithan’s wife expressed hope that the Supreme Court would overturn the verdict. It did not.