Published on: Wednesday, January 20, 2021
By: AP
Anchan outside the Bangkok Criminal Court.
BANGKOK: A court in Thailand on Tuesday sentenced a former civil servant to a record prison term of 43 years and six months for breaching the country’s strict law on insulting or defaming the monarchy, lawyers said.
The Bangkok Criminal Court found the woman guilty on 29 counts of violating the country’s lese majeste law for posting audio clips to Facebook and YouTube with comments deemed critical of the monarchy, the group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights said.
The sentence, which comes amid an ongoing protest movement that has seen unprecedented public criticism of the monarchy, was swiftly condemned by rights groups.
The 11-storey Poseidon massage parlour in Thailand s capital with hundreds of luxury themed rooms is set to become a three-star hotel after the business was hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
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As I mentioned briefly in an article yesterday, a Thai court yesterday sentenced a woman to a record 43-and-a-half years for criticizing the monarchy – the most severe sentence ever handed down under Thailand’s controversial lese-majeste law.
The Bangkok Criminal Court found Anchan Preelert, a former civil servant, guilty of violating the law on 29 instances, for posting audio clips to Facebook and YouTube with comments deemed critical of the palace. This initially added up to a term of 87 years, but the sentence was halved after the defendant admitted her “guilt.”
According to the group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, the woman sentenced was in her mid-60s, meaning that she will likely die in prison for doing what in most nations is an entirely innocuous activity: expressing her opinion online. Her sentence exceeded by some way the 35-year sentence handed down to a man by a military court in 2017, for social media posts deemed defamatory to the monarchy.
Thai court gives record 43-year sentence for insulting king on social media
The Bangkok Criminal Court found the woman guilty on 29 counts of violating the country’s lese majeste law for posting audio clips to Facebook and YouTube.
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A woman identified only by her first name Anchan, right, shake hand with a friend as she arrives at the Bangkok Criminal Court in Bangkok, Thailand. (Photo | AP) By PTI
BANGKOK: A court in Thailand on Tuesday sentenced a former civil servant to a record prison term of 43 years and six months for breaching the country s strict law on insulting or defaming the monarchy, lawyers said.