Associated Press
Bangkok, August 7: Two military courts handed down Thailand’s harshest sentences in recent decades for insulting the monarchy, punishing two Facebook users Friday in the latest cases involving comments posted online.
A man in Bangkok was sentenced to prison for 30 years for six Facebook postings, and a mother of two young girls in the northern province of Chiang Mai was sentenced to 28 years for seven postings, said iLaw, a watchdog group that monitors such cases. Their original sentences were halved because they admitted their guilt to the court.
Bangkok military court chief judge Maj Gen Panomthep Wesaratchanun said the trial of Pongsak Sriboonpeng was conducted behind closed doors because “What he wrote was beyond rude. Even the prosecutor did not want to read them out loud.”
Thailand’s lese majeste law is considered the harshest in the world, with those accused of defaming, insulting or threatening the monarchy facing prison terms ranging from three to 15 years on each count. Critics says it is often used as a tool to smother social and political dissent, and note that King Bhumibol Adulyadej himself proclaimed in a public speech that he is not above criticism.
Thais hold great affection for King Bhumibol, who is revered as a moral authority who stepped in repeatedly over the years to unify the country despite his lack of a formal political role. The 87-year-old king’s fading from public life due to ill health, and the palace’s perceived role in bitter political battles that started in 2006, have tarnished the institution in recent years, undermining what had previously been near-universal respect for the royal institution.