BANGKOK: A Thai court sentenced a man to 18 months in prison for royal defamation over a comment posted in a Facebook group discussing the monarchy, a rights group said on Friday (June 19).
Thailand's strict lese-majeste law shields the royal family from criticism, with penalties of up to 15 years in prison for each offence -- punishments critics say are used to stifle dissent.
In the latest case, the Criminal Court sentenced a 43-year-old man to 18 months in prison over a comment he posted in the private Facebook group "Royalist Marketplace", which has more than 2.2 million members.
The group, founded by exiled royal critic and scholar Pavin Chachavalpongpun, was created as a forum for discussing the monarchy -- an unprecedented development in Thai society.
"The court initially sentenced him to three years, but because he confessed, the sentence was reduced by half," Noppol Achamas, information officer at the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, told AFP.
The man, whose name was withheld to protect his privacy, was granted bail of 100,000 baht (US$3,043) while awaiting an appeal, Noppol said.
The Facebook group became active following the youth-led protest movement of 2020 and 2021, when demonstrators called for reforms to the monarchy and amendments to the royal defamation law.
But the movement later lost momentum as many activists faced lese-majeste and other criminal charges.
A total of 291 people have been charged under the royal insult law since 2020, according to TLHR data.
At least 17 have been prosecuted for comments posted in the "Royalist Marketplace" Facebook group. - AFP
