A 43-year-old Bangkok citizen has been sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison on a royal defamation charge over a comment made in the Royalist Marketplace Facebook group in 2021.
Pui (pseudonym) was charged with royal defamation and violation of the Computer Crimes Act for commenting under a post in the Royalist Marketplace Facebook group inviting people to greet King Vajiralongkorn, Queen Suthida, and royal consort Sineenat at Don Muang Air Force Base on 20 November 2021.
Royalist Marketplace, known in Thai as Talad Luang (Royal Market or Public Market), was established by academic Pavin Chachavalpongpun in April 2020. Group members engage in daily satirical discussions of the monarchy.
The complaint against Pui was filed by ultra-royalist group member Thakoon Nualkaew, who claimed that Pui’s comment was defamatory.
Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) said on 18 June that Pui was sentenced to 3 years in prison. The sentence was reduced to 1 year and 6 months because Pui pleaded guilty. He was later granted bail pending appeal on a cash security of 100,000 baht.
TLHR noted that at least 17 royal defamation complaints have been filed against social media users for posting or commenting on the Royalist Marketplace Facebook group, all of which were filed by members of ultra-royalist groups.
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