Man sentenced to jail for putting sticker on king’s portrait

Powerful monarchy: A file photo showing a person holding a portrait of Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn in Bangkok. — Reuters

A Thai man was sentenced to two years in jail for violating the country’s tough royal defamation laws by putting a sticker on a portrait of Thailand’s king during 2020’s huge democracy rallies.

It is the first sentencing from lese majeste charges related to the protests, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) said, when thousands marched demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and made unprecedented calls for reform to the nation’s untouchable monarchy.