Vendor who made online posts appealing sentence said to be the second-longest handed out in recent years
A court in Chiang Rai has sentenced a man to 28 years in prison for insulting the monarchy in online posts, his lawyer said on Thursday.
Mongkol Tirakote, 29, an online clothing vendor and activist, was found guilty in two separate royal defamation cases under Section 112 of the Criminal Code.
His prison sentence was originally 42 years but the court reduced it following his testimony, his lawyer told AFP.
The lawyer said Mongkol intended to lodge an appeal and the court granted him bail of 300,000 baht.
Royal defamation convictions can carry a jail sentence of up to 15 years per charge.
Mongkol also faces a third, separate charge over online posts from last year and will be back in court in March.
Sunai Phasuk, a senior researcher with Human Rights Watch, said the 28-year sentence was the second-highest prison term handed down by a Thai court for a royal defamation case.
In 2021, a court handed down a record 43-year sentence to a woman identified only as Anchan for insulting the monarchy. Her sentence was originally 87 years and she remains in prison.
Ostensibly meant to shield the royal family from defamation, insults or threats, Section 112 is broadly interpreted to include any criticism of the monarchy.
Anyone can file a complaint with police and they are obliged to investigate it. As a result, critics say, the law is frequently used to intimidate people with different political views.
There was a decline in charges for several years but mass youth-led protests in 2020 calling for democratic change and reforms to the monarchy resulted in the use of the law being revived.
More than 200 cases have been brought against pro-democracy activists since November 2020, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR).
According to TLHR, 16 people are now being held in detention pending trial or appeal on charges related to their participation in the pro-democracy movement, eight of them on royal defamation charges.
Two young women charged with lese majeste are currently on a hunger strike to press for the release on bail of political detainees and reform of the lese majeste and sedition laws.
Tantawan Tuatulanon and Orawan Phuphong are seriously ill in Thammasat University Hospital after refusing both food and water as well as medical intervention for eight days. Their supporters say their lives are in serious danger if a resolution cannot be found that would persuade them to accept help.