Tough sentence: On Jan 20, Thailand's criminal court jailed a man for six years for Facebook comments deemed to be an insult to the country's king. Pictured are images of Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej outside Siriraj hospital in Bangkok last week. — Reuters
BANGKOK: Thailand's criminal court on Jan 20 jailed a man for six years for Facebook comments deemed to be an insult to the country's king, in what one rights group called the toughest sentence by a civilian court for a single such offence.
The country's strict lese-majeste law makes it a crime to defame, insult or threaten the king, queen, heir to the throne or regent. The military government has stepped up prosecutions of those accused of defamation, giving out harsher sentences.
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