The Supreme Court has ruled to sentence a former factory worker to 10 years in prison on charges of royal defamation and violation of the Computer Crimes Act over Facebook posts made in late 2020 and early 2021.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) said that 37-year-old Udom, a former worker at an electronic component factory, was taken to the Narathiwat Provincial Court on 11 November to hear the Supreme Court’s ruling without his lawyer or family member present.

Udom was charged with royal defamation and violation of the Computer Crimes Act for 7 Facebook posts made between October 2021 and January 2021, one of which was shared from Matichon Online’s Facebook page and another from a Facebook page called Konthaiuk.

The complaint against him was filed by a man name Phasit Chanhuaton, who TLHR says has filed royal defamation complaints against several people with the police in Sungai Kolok. TLHR also said that no one who has been accused of royal defamation by Phasit lives in the south of Thailand and all must travel long distances to attend court hearings. Udom, for example, lives in Prachinburi and has had to travel to Narathiwat 5 times to report to the police and attend court.

In July 2022, the Narathiwat Provincial Court found Udom guilty for 2 of the 7 posts and sentenced him to 6 years in prison, reduced to 4 years because he confessed to having made the posts and owning the Facebook profile page.

In August 2023, the Appeal Court upheld the guilty verdict, agreeing with the Narathiwat Provincial Court that posts that mention previous kings do not constitute an offense under the royal defamation law and that it was not clear whether the image used in one post was that of King Vajiralongkorn and so Udom could not be convicted for it.

After the Appeal Court’s ruling was made, Udom requested bail pending appeal with the Supreme Court. His request was forwarded to the Supreme Court and subsequently denied. He has been held in detention pending appeal since 31 August 2023.

TLHR said that on 11 November, the Supreme Court found Udom guilty of an additional 3 counts of royal defamation, bringing his total prison sentence to 10 years.

It ruled that, since the royal defamation law does not specify that it is an offense against the reigning monarch, posts that mention the late King Bhumibol are also offenses under the law. It noted that interpreting the law as referring only to the reigning monarch could leave a loophole for defamation that might affect the current King, that damages national security as citizens who respect King Bhumibol would be unhappy, and that defaming King Bhumibol affects the reputation of the current King.