<p>On 20&nbsp;January, the Court of Appeal objected to the bail request of Anchan (surname omitted), a 63 year old woman who faces 43 years and 6 months jail sentence under the Lèse-majesté law punishment.</p>

<p>The Criminal Court on Ratchadaphisek Road in Bangkok has sentenced poet &lsquo;Rungsila&rsquo; to 4 years and 6 months in jail for posting poems and cartoons judged to be lèse majesté. He was jailed for 4 years and 11 months during his trial in a military court, so he has no more time to serve.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The record-breaking&nbsp;sentence delivered to <a href="https://prachatai.com/english/node/9023">Anchan</a>, 63, who was found guilty of&nbsp;lèse majesté, is a &quot;serious assault&quot; on freedom of expression and shows how Section 112 is inconsistent&nbsp;with international human rights law, says Amnesty International&#39;s&nbsp;Asia-Pacific Regional Director.</p>

<p>Anchan (pseudonym), 63,&nbsp;found guilty under Section 112 of the Criminal Code, has been sentenced to 87 years in prison, with the sentence reduced because of her confession and 3 years spent in prison pending her trial. The net sentence is 43 years and 6 months, the longest sentence ever under Section 112.</p>

<p>On 15 January, the court accepted a request from the police to withdraw an erroneous arrest warrant against political activist Chayaphol &lsquo;Dave&rsquo; Danothai after he went to Klong Luang Police Station for questioning with a goat.</p>

<p>Samutprakan Provincial Court has acquitted &quot;Thanakorn&quot; of lèse-majesté and computer crime charges after the authorities prosecuted him for posting a statement relating to a sarcastic comment against supporters of Thong Daeng, the favourite dog of the late King Bhumibol.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Jomtien Hospital and Bangkok Hospital Rayong have announced the dismissal of Dr Saravin Thongrong for &ldquo;inappropriate behaviour against the rules of the company&rdquo; after his comments on the late King Bhumibol surfaced on the internet. Right-wing activists have called for his license to be revoked and for him to be prosecuted under the lèse-majesté law. &nbsp;</p>

<p>Sirichai (last name withheld), a freshman at the Puey Ungphakorn School of Development Studies, Thammasat University, and a member of the student activist group United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration, was arrested during Wednesday night (13 January) on a royal defamation charge under Section 112.</p>

<p>3 more people have been charged with royal defamation under Section 112 of the Criminal Code, bringing the number of people facing Section 112 charges to 40.</p>

<p>On 22 December, the Criminal Court found Patnaree Chankij, the mother of pro-democracy activist Sirawith Seritiwat, not guilty of charges under the lèse majesté law and the Computer Crime Act after she responded in a chat with her son&rsquo;s friend with &lsquo;cha&rsquo; (yes).</p>

<p>Amnesty International has issued an <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa39/3470/2020/en/">appeal</a> for its members worldwide to send letters to Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha calling for an end to criminal prosecutions of peaceful protestors.</p>