Lady convicted of imperial defamation Phitsanulok weakens after 16 days
Published on September 6, 2023, at 14:55
After her situation deteriorated on the 16th day of her hunger strike in protest at the loan rejection, a woman who was found guilty of imperial slander was transferred to Thammasat University Hospital.
According to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights( TLHR ), the 30-year-old woman, only known as Warunee, was transferred from the Central Correctional Hospital on Tuesday evening after being admitted there last Wednesday for treatment of exhaustion.
Her situation started to worry her family because she had refused to continue receiving treatment at the prison doctor, and her attorneys requested that she be examined by health professionals. Tuesday at around 8 p.m., she was admitted to Thammasat University Hospital.
On August 21, Warunee started turning down food as a protest against the courts’ decision to deny her bail while she appealed her word. She only drank soy milk for the first three weeks and hasn’t had much water after. According to TLHR, she has lost four kilograms and is now only 33 kg heavier.
She was weak, according to a solicitor who visited Warunee on Tuesday, and medics reported that her blood’s acidity levels were an issue. Except for when taking personal medication, when she drinks more, she has been consuming the bare minimum of water — only about 10cc four times a day. The attorney claimed that she is rejecting nutrient supplements.
The Phitsanulok citizen was taken to the Central Women’s Correctional Institution on June 28 after the Criminal Court gave her a three-year prison term for posting an edited Facebook photo that was deemed to have insulted His Majesty the King in accordance with Area 112 of the Lese-majeste Law, which is the criminal code.
Due to the accused’s confession, the statement was shortened to one month and six months. Since then, while their client appeals, her attorneys have submitted five apps for loan, all of which have been denied. The slave is a flight risk, according to the Court of Appeal, and her attorneys’ assertion that she has bipolar disorder has no bearing on the case.
Warunee was accused of committing the crime in December 2021. The Thailand Help Centre for Cyberbullying Victims, which has brought many lese-majeste charges against protesters like Parit Chiwarak, Anon Nampa, and Panusaya Sithijirawattankul, filed the complaint on behalf of Nopadol Prompasit.
According to TLHR, Weha Saencholchanasuk, another prisoner, has been on a starvation attack at the Bangkok Remand Prison since August 23 in support of Warunee.
Since May 18, when the Criminal Court sentenced him to three times and eighteen months in prison for a tweet that broke Area 121, he has been detained. Additionally, he has been denied bond.
Since the start of the Free Youth demonstrations in July 2020, 1, 918 individuals have been charged with social participation and appearance, according to statistics from TLHR to July 31 of this year. At least 253 people are facing lese-majeste costs under Area 112, and 130 people have been accused of rebellion in Part 116.