43 years’ jail for insulting royals

Outrage: Anchan speaking to reporters after arriving at the court in Bangkok. — Reuters

A COURT sentenced a 65-year-old woman to more than 43 years in jail for sharing online posts criticising the royal family, her lawyer said, the country’s harshest ever sentence for insulting the monarchy.

Her sentence comes at a time of unprecedented youth-led demonstrations in which protest leaders have openly criticised the monarchy, risking prosecution under Thailand’s strict law known as lese majeste, which carries a 15-year penalty for each violation.

Anchan Preelert pled guilty to 29 separate violations of sharing and posting clips on YouTube and Facebook between 2014 and 2015, her lawyer, Pawinee Chumsri, said.

She was initially sentenced to 87 years but because she had acknowledged her violations the court halved this, the lawyer said.

“This is the highest prison sentence ever in a lese majeste case, ” said Pawinee, who is from the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights group.

Anchan, who could not be reached for comment, can appeal the sentence at two higher courts, Pawinee said.

Amnesty International expressed dismay over what two Thai rights groups also said was the longest ever sentence in Thailand for insulting the monarchy, while Human Rights Watch called the verdict “shocking” and “a spine-chilling signal that not only criticisms of the monarchy won’t be tolerated but that they will also be severely punished”.

“The fast-rising number of individuals facing charges and being detained under the lese majeste law demonstrates the Thai authorities’ relentless drive to silence dissent, ” said Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific regional director, Yamini Mishra. — Reuters/The Nation/ANN