The Appeal Cort has ruled to uphold a guilty verdict against two activists charged with royal defamation for wearing a crop top to a protest on 20 December 2020, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) said today (25 November).

Thanakorn, now 22, and Nattakorn, now 21, were charged when they were 17 years old. The Centrial Juvenile and Family Court found them guilty and sentenced them to 3 years in prison. Their sentence was reduced to 1 year and 6 months because their alleged offences took place when they were minors, and later replaced with up to 2 years of training at a juvenile training center. They were required to take three vocational training courses and complete their schooling.

Thanakorn and Nattakorn filed for appeal. The Court of Appeal for Specialized Cases upheld the guilty verdict, ruling that their action during the protest defamed the King, who is inviolable, and that they were not acting within the boundary of their constitutional freedom of expression and protest.

The Appeal Court ruled, however, to suspend their sentence for 3 years instead of replacing their prison sentence with detention in a training center. They will be subjected to 3 years of probation, during which they will be required to meet with their probation officer every 4 months. They are also required to complete their schooling, after which they must find a job, and must not socialize with people who could lead them to repeat their offence.

It noted that Thanakorn and Nattakorn were participants, not leaders of the protest, that they still lived with their families who have promised to monitor their behaviours, and that they do not live in areas with crime or drug issues. The Court ruled that sending them to a training center would deny them educational opportunities, and that it would be better for them to have their sentence suspended and instruct their families to keep a close eye on them.

The 20 December 2020 protest was organized by the student activist group United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration (UFTD). Activists wore crop tops and walk around the Siam Paragon shopping mall in response to a royal defamation charge filed against activist Noppasin Treelayapiwat, then 16, for participating in a protest on 29 October 2020 wearing a black crop top with the message “My father’s name is Mana, not Vajiralongkorn” written on his back. They also demanded the repeal of the royal defamation law.