Thai student leader pleads guilty to lese majeste

Activists standing behind makeshift bars wearing masks of Thai human rights activist Jatupat “Pai” Boonpattararaksa, who was arrested in early December 2016. - AFP/file

Bangkok (AFP) - A prominent student leader on Tuesday pleaded guilty to defaming Thailand's royal family by sharing a news story about the kingdom's new monarch on Facebook, his lawyer said.

Jatupat "Pai Dao Din" Boonpatararaksa, 25, is the latest anti-junta activist to be hit with the country's draconian lese majeste law which bans any criticism of the monarchy.