#BreakingNews 🚨 60-Year-Old Man Sentenced to 18 Years for Online Posts about the Monarchy

On June 26, 2023, Pong (pseudonym) was sentenced to 18 years in prison for Facebook posts deemed to insult the monarchy, which were found to be in violation of the lèse-majesté law (Section 112 of the Criminal Code) and the Computer Crime Act.

After confessing, his sentence was reduced to 6 years and 36 months. Eventually, he was granted a suspended sentence of two years. He has to comply with certain requirements set by the court, such as not repeating the offense, reporting to the probation officer regularly, and doing social service activities.

Last year on January 20, Pong was arrested at his residence in Phuket by officers from the Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) before being taken into custody. He was detained at the Bangkok Remand Prison, where he remained detained for three days to facilitate witness investigation. He was subsequently released on bail.

This is the latest conviction in Thailand where authorities have cracked down on critics of the monarchy. Since November 2020, more than 250 people have been charged under the lèse-majesté law.

#WeAreManushyan ♾ Equal Human Beings

✊ Manushya Foundation vehemently condemns the abuse of lèse-majesté law and the CCA! We call on the Thai government to respect its international human rights obligations on the right to freedom of expression and information, laid down in Article 19 of the UDHR and ICCPR. It must also comply with the UPR recommendations on freedom of expression, including the revision of Section 112, which it received during its 3rd UPR cycle.

While you’re here, check out how Manushya demystifies digital rights and pushes back on digital authoritarianism together with the ASEAN Coalition to #StopDigitalDictatorship, the leading regional expert on human rights:

• Digital Rights are Human Rights

• #StopDigitalDictatorship Campaign in Southeast Asia

• 🔊Highlights From Our #RightsCon2023 Session, June 9, 2023

• Freedom on the Net 2022: Internet Freedom Remained Under Threat in Thailand, October 19, 2022

• Joint Submission to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights ‘The Right to Privacy in the Digital Age: Mass surveillance, Digital Contact-tracing, Social Media Monitoring, and Data Requests in Southeast Asia’, June 2022

• Joint Submission to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights: Human Rights Due Diligence, Tech Sector Responsibilities and Business Transparency, February 2022

• Joint Submission to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression: Freedom, Independence, Diversity of Media and the Safety of Journalists in Southeast Asia, January 2022

• Thailand UPR III Factsheet on Digital Rights, September 9, 2021

References:

1. Thai Lawyers for Human Rights Twitter Page, Public Post from June 26, (June 26, 2023), available at: https://twitter.com/TLHR2014/status/1673172307572051968

2. Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, สถิติผู้ถูกดำเนินคดีมาตรา 112 “หมิ่นประมาทกษัตริย์” ปี 2563-65, (April 2022), Last update: June 26, 2023, available at: https://tlhr2014.com/archives/23983

3. Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, ตร.บก.ปอท.จับชายวัย 59 ปี จากภูเก็ต แจ้งข้อหา ม.112 ศาลไม่ให้ประกันตัว อ้างเหตุผู้ประกันไม่ใช่ญาติ, (January 22, 2022), available at: https://tlhr2014.com/archives/39848

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