A 31-year-old electrician has been indicted for royal defamation over four Facebook posts.
Aphirak (pseudonym) was charged with royal defamation and violation of the Computer Crimes Act for 2 Facebook posts made between 8–9 August, for sharing 2 posts from a Facebook page about the monarchy between 9–10 August and for adding a caption, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR).
Aphirak was arrested on the night of 10 August. He said it was not until he arrived at the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau that the police showed him an arrest warrant. He pleaded guilty during his arrest and had his mobile phone confiscated.
During the inquiry stage, no legal representative was present. He was later detained pending investigation at the Bangkok Remand Prison because he did not file for bail. Aphirak was detained for 19 days before being released on 29 August.
The public prosecutor indicted him on Monday (3 November) and the Criminal Court granted him bail pending trial with 90,000 baht as security.
According to TLHR, at least 284 people have been charged with royal defamation since November 2020.
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