<p><strong><em>Paris-Geneva, April 30, 2015 - Thailand’s Supreme Court must immediately release on bail human rights defender Somyot Phrueksakasemsuk and expedite his appeal trial, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, an FIDH-OMCT joint program, said today.</em></strong></p>

<div>The Appeal Court on Friday affirmed the decision of the Court of First Instance to sentence Somyos Prueksakasemsuk to 10 years in jail for editing lèse majesté articles written by others.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Somyos Prueksakasemsuk has been detained at Bangkok Remand Prison for almost four years.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>He was found guilty of being the editor of Voice of Taksin monthly magazine which published two articles deemed to insult the King. </div>

<div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Coup makers, since 1976 coup d’etat, have regularly cited a surge of lese majeste as a prerequisite for overthrowing an elected government. The 2006 coup, when lese majeste was cited as one of the major reasons, marked a surge of the lese majeste cases. The atrocity in April-May 2010, where almost 100 of people were killed during the military crackdown on anti-establishment red-shirt protesters, also contributed to a dramatic rise of lese majeste cases, especially the offences committed online. </div></div>

<div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Anti-coup red-shirt activist Sombat Boonngarm-anong has said on Twitter that he wishes to help the junta tackle drug problems, that reds and yellows are united behind bars and that he befriended the anti-red-shirt "popcorn gunman".&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On Thursday, Sombat tweeted on twitter.com/nuling a series on his experience in prison and a series. </div>