Facing royal defamation charges for singing a modified version of the royal anthem at a protest in January 2021, Chaiamorn “Ammy” Kaewwiboonpan, lead singer of The Bottom Blues pop band, was recently acquitted. However, another activist charged because of the protest, Promsorn, was sentenced to 2 years in prison without parole before being granted bail.

<p>Although it&rsquo;s now common for royal insult defendants to be freed on bail, their freedom often comes with vague conditions like bans on joining protests that could lead to &ldquo;chaos&rdquo; or doing anything that &ldquo;damages&rdquo; the monarchy. Experts question whether these conditions may violate the rights to free expression.&nbsp;</p>