<p>On 23 February 2017, the Supreme Court sentenced Somyot Prueksakasemsuk, a labour and democracy activist turned lèse majesté suspect, to six years in prison, ending his six year struggle against the charge. As a man of principle, Somyot was the first lèse majesté suspect in a decade to choose to fight until the end, rather than pleading guilty for a lighter jail term. Prachatai has gathered 14 facts about the man whose legal battle has sparked debate about Thailand’s controversial lèse majesté law.</p> <p></p>

<div>January 2016 marked more than four years since Somyot Prueksakasemsuk, social activist and former editor of Voice of Taksin magazine, lost his freedom for the publishing of two articles in the magazine which were deemed to fall within the domain of lèse majesté.</div> <p></p>

<div>(6 June 2013) Sukanya Prueksakasemsuk, the wife of magazine editor Somyot who is serving an 11 year jail sentence, submitted an open letter from her husband to Jacob Mathew, President of the World Association of Newspaper and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) during the 65th World Newspaper Congress in Bangkok.</div> <p></p>

<p>Bangkok, May 23&nbsp;-- Ongoing suppression of freedom of expression, little accountability for the 2010 political violence and the internal armed conflict in the Deep South are the main human rights concerns for Thailand in the 2013 Amnesty International Annual Report.</p> <p></p>

<p>Somyot Prueksakasemsuk’s request for bail was dismissed by the Appeals Court on 25 Jan, said his wife Sukanya after she went to the Criminal Court on 4 Feb.</p> <p>The bail request was submitted to the court immediately after the verdict was delivered on 23 Jan, she said.</p>

<p><em>Sukanya Prueksakasemsuk's letter to her husband on week 80 of his detention.</em></p>

<p>Sukanya Prueksakasemsuk's letter to her husband Somyot in prison, and the 112 Family Network's invitation to Somyot's court appearance on 19 Dec. (see attachements for more details)</p>