After latest decision, full jail time is longest on history, says doctors ‘ party
PUBLISHED: 4 Sep 2024 at 22: 02
According to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights ( TLHR ), an appeal court on Wednesday upheld the conviction of a Chiang Rai clothing vendor in a third lese-majeste case, bringing his total prison time for the crimes to a record 54 years and 6 months.
Mongkol” Busbas” Thirakot had previously been sentenced in two different lese-majeste cases to a full of 50 years in prison, even upheld on appeal.
” This is by far the longest jail sentence given to a Section 112 accused, based on available knowledge”, TLHR said on Wednesday, referring to the part of the Criminal Code that covers royal slander.
The Chiang Rai Provincial Court had previously found Mongkol innocent of two counts of trespass and one count of trespassing in the most recent event, and the Court of Appeal Region 5 issued a statement of 4 times and 6 months.
Mongkol watched the decision, read out in the Chiang Rai Provincial Court, via a movie link from the Chiang Rai Central Prison, where he has been detained.
The Court of Appeal Region 5 upheld the 28-year prison word that a lower court had previously imposed on Mongkol in January of this year. The defendant had been found guilty of 14 der qualifications counts, each of which carries a two-year prison term.
It likewise found him guilty of a more 11 matters, each with a two-year prison term, bringing the total in the two scenarios to 50 times.
The size surpassed that of another lese-majeste accused, Anchan Preelert, a former legal servant, who was ordered to provide 43 years and six months in jail.
After engaging in a hunger strike in Chiang Rai in April 2021 to demand that political detainees in related cases be granted parole right, Mongkol was detained.
The prosecutor was informed that Mongkol published 25 Facebook posts that he claimed were critical of the king between March 2 and March 11, 2021. In those ten days, he shared a number of videos from foreign websites that contained stuff that he thought was dangerous to the monarchy. Following that, authorities discovered that he posted more offensive content on April 8 and 9 of the same year.
Mongkol claimed that he only expressed his political antagonism to the King rather than defaming the king. The judge said it was slander, and rude thoughts were used.
Section 112 maintains a maximum sentence of 3 times and a maximum sentence of 15 years for any work that defames, accusations or threatens the King, Queen, Heir-apparent or Regent.  ,
Since the start of the Free Youth demonstrations in July 2020, 1, 954 people have been charged for social participation and appearance, according to TLHR data from TLHR data as of July 31 of this year. At least 272 are facing charges of lese-majesteté under Part 112, and 152 have been charged with sedition under Part 116.