The Court of Appeal Region 5 has sentenced a human rights lawyer to two years in prison for royal defamation over his protest speech delivered during a 2020 protest at Chiang Mai University. 

The case stems from a speech delivered at Chiang Mai University on 23 November 2020. Anon and activist Parit Chiwarak, who has sought asylum overseas, were charged with royal defamation. In the speech, Anon addressed royal assets, King Vajiralongkorn's significant shareholding in Siam Commercial Bank and Siam Cement Group, and the transfer of state-owned land to His Majesty as private property, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.

He was charged on 18 February 2021. When indicted on 9 January 2023, he was already imprisoned in connection with earlier cases. The Chiang Mai Provincial Court granted him bail with 150,000 baht as security and the condition that he not commit any acts similar to the one he was charged with.

Anon admitted delivering the speech, testifying that the matter of the expansion of royal power was widely discussed on social media by members of the younger generation during the 2020 mass protests.

He explained that his speech reflected controversial issues that he and other members of his generation found questionable. By way of example, he cited former prime minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha’s admission of 10 January 2017 that the King ordered an amendment to the Constitution which had already been approved by a public referendum in 2016.   

Arnon argued this amounted to a significant expansion of royal power which violated democratic principles, contradicting the principle that “the King can do no wrong.” He pointed out that the transfer of two military units to the royal guard also violated the Constitution and stated his objection to the revised Crown Property Act of 2017, which allows Crown assets to be treated as the King’s personal property.

On 27 March 2025, the Chiang Mai Provincial Court sentenced him to three years in prison. Due to his guilty plea, the term was reduced to two years. On Thursday (16 July), the Court of Appeal Region 5 upheld the initial verdict. 

The human rights lawyer has been detained in the Bangkok Remand Prison since 26 September 2023 due to cases related to political expression, mostly royal defamation cases.

Anon faces a cumulative sentence of approximately 31 years and 9 months in prison for 11 royal defamation and other charges.