BANGKOK: A Thai court on Friday ( Sep 13 ) sentenced one of the kingdom’s leading pro-democracy activists to three years in prison for defaming the monarchy, a human rights lawyers ‘ group said.
In 2021, in Chaiyaphum state, Jatupat” Pai” Boonpattararaksa was found innocent of breaking Thailand’s royal defamation laws by giving an anti-monarchy statement in his home.
He faces three years in prison, according to the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights ( TLHR ) group.
” He was immediately sentenced to four years and six weeks, but thanks to important witness, he was commuted”, TLHR said on X.
Before being granted parole in early 2022, Jatupat had served six months in pre-trial confinement.
A TLHR member told AFP that he would also be charged with two additional royal slander costs.
One of the important players in the massive protests for 2020-2021 was the 33-year-old advocate, who called for the monarchy’s reformation of the streets.
A stability guess law prohibits condemnation of Thailand’s king, and each offence is punishable by up to 15 years in jail.
Reviewers claim that the government has silenced opposition with the policy. More than 270 citizens have been prosecuted for lese-majeste since 2020, according to TLHR.
Another politics activist, Parit Chiwarak, was given a two-year prison sentence in July on a royal attack command.
In May, privileges advocate Netiporn Sanae-sangkhom, who was in prison over der guess charges, died while on poverty strike.