Lèse-majesté in Thailand

Origin and early developments In the feudal era, monarchs, royal officials, royal symbols, and wrongdoings in the palace were protected from many kinds of "violation". removing the right to express opinions which might be insulting to the monarchy if said within the spirit of the constitution. Court decisions shortly after the change still took context into consideration. In December 1957, a case against a politician was dismissed because a political campaign was underway. In Order No.41, the penalty for lèse-majesté was increased from a maximum of seven years imprisonment to three to fifteen years per count. Other than the Empire of Japan during World WarII, Thailand is the only constitutional monarchy that strengthened lèse-majesté in the 20th century. In March 2007, Oliver Jufer, a Swiss man, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for spray-painting graffiti over five posters of King Bhumibol while drunk in Chiang Mai, although he received a royal pardon the following month. Political weaponisation Between 1990 and 2005, there was an average of five new lèse-majesté cases per year. Since then, however, there have been at least 400 cases—an estimated 1,500 per cent increase. In 2005, cases registered in the Attorney General's office rose sharply from 12 new cases in 2000–2004 to 17. After the coup, dozens of radio stations were shut down because of alleged lèse-majesté. Academics have been investigated, imprisoned and forced into exile over accusations of lèse-majesté. Prominent historian Somsak Jeamteerasakul was arrested for proposing an eight-point plan to reform of the monarchy. Giles Ji Ungpakorn went into exile in 2007 after his book, A Coup for the Rich, questioned Bhumibol's role in the 2006 coup. In March 2011, Worachet Pakeerat, a law lecturer, banded together with same-minded lecturers and formed the Nitirat Group, aiming to amend the lèse-majesté law. He proposed reducing the maximum jail term to three years, a circumstance for pardoning, and that only the Office of His Majesty's Principal Private Secretary could file a complaint. His actions angered many people. In February 2012, he was assaulted in broad daylight in Bangkok. During the government of Yingluck Shinawatra, the number of arrests and convictions for lèse-majesté offences declined significantly. There were 478 cases in 2010. In May 2014, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), the military junta, granted authority to a military tribunal to prosecute lèse-majesté in Thailand. Military courts routinely imposed harsher sentences than civilian courts would. In August 2015, the Bangkok Military Court sentenced Pongsak Sriboonpeng to 60 years in prison for his six Facebook postings (later reduced to 30 years, when he pleaded guilty). This was Thailand's longest recorded sentence for lèse-majesté. The courts were dubbed "kangaroo courts." iLaw, a Thai non-profit organisation, reported that the junta hold persons in custody for seven days without charges. Secret trials were held. Officials seized personal communication devices to search for incriminating evidence. In December 2014, the parents of Srirasmi Suwadee, formerly a Thai princess, were sentenced for "insulting the royal family and lodging a malicious claim". In 2015, Prachatai published an infographic showing that bathroom graffiti, a hand gesture, a hearsay report of a taxi conversation, and not standing during the playing of the royal anthem, among other things, could be punished as acts of lèse-majesté. A nurse wearing black on Bhumibol Adulyadej's birthday was charged with lèse-majesté. The last formal attempt to amend the law occurred in May 2012 when more than 10,000 people signed a petition to parliament, but Speaker of the House of Representatives, Somsak Kiatsuranont, dismissed it citing that amendment of the law concerning the monarchy was not a constitutional right. Enforcement under King Vajiralongkorn Following the ascension of King Vajiralongkorn to the throne in 2016, the enforcement of Thailand’s lèse-majesté law intensified under the military junta government, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). In December 2016, activist Jatupat Boonpattararaksa, a member of the rights group Dao Din, was arrested and charged with lèse-majesté after sharing a BBC Thai biography of the new monarch on Facebook. Despite over 2,600 others having shared the same article, Jatupat was the only individual prosecuted. Neither the publisher, BBC Thai, nor other sharers faced legal action. In May 2017, the NCPO further expanded the law's scope, declaring that even viewing royal-related content deemed offensive could constitute lèse-majesté and be subject to prosecution. As of November 2018, at least 127 people had been charged with lèse-majesté since the 2014 coup. In 2017, Thai authorities charged a 14-year-old boy with lèse-majesté for allegedly burning a royal arch in Khon Kaen, marking the first known prosecution of a minor under the law. A lawyer in the case argued that the court lacked impartiality, as proceedings were carried out in the name of the King, who was a party with a vested interest. A directive from the Attorney General's Office, dated 21 February 2018, stipulated that only the Attorney General himself could authorize lèse-majesté prosecutions. In June 2018, new regulations permitted prosecutors to dismiss cases not deemed to serve the public interest. Subsequently, several cases were dismissed even when defendants had pleaded guilty, and bail was granted in some lèse-majesté trials—an unprecedented development. Nevertheless, authorities increasingly substituted the use of Section 112 with other statutes such as the Computer Crime Act or sedition law. Following the forced disappearance of exiled activist Wanchalearm Satsaksit in June 2020—himself accused of lèse-majesté—the hashtag #ยกเลิก112 (“Repeal 112”) trended nationwide on Twitter with over 500,000 retweets, as many believed the charges against him were a factor in his abduction. By August 2020, during the height of the anti-government demonstrations, calls to reform the monarchy and abolish Article 112 became central among protest demands. , Arnon Nampa, and Somyot Prueksakasemsuk received bail on 2 November 2020. In January 2021, Anchan Preelerd received the harshest lèse-majesté sentence in Thai history—87 years in prison—for uploading and sharing online talk show videos. After pleading guilty, her sentence was reduced by half to 43.5 years. The United Nations Human Rights Committee later declared that "imprisonment is never an appropriate penalty" for such cases. In the same year, opposition leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit was charged with lèse-majesté after he criticized the government's COVID-19 vaccine procurement strategy for relying heavily on Siam Bioscience, a company owned by the King, despite its lack of prior vaccine experience. The Royal Thai Police charged him following his 18 January 2021 Facebook Live broadcast. The Technology Crime Suppression Division ordered the removal of the video. In August 2021, Thanathorn faced two additional lèse-majesté charges for the same incident. By late 2021, Prime Minister Prayut had revived active enforcement of the lèse-majesté law in response to the ongoing protests. Since November 2020, at least 173 people have been charged under the law. On 14 May 2024, activist Netiporn Sanesangkhom, died in custody following a prolonged hunger strike protesting political imprisonment and judicial injustice. After the 2023 Thai general election, the Move Forward Party, led by Pita Limjaroenrat—which won the most parliamentary seats—was barred from forming a coalition government due to its platform advocating the amendment of Section 112. In January 2024, the Constitutional Court ordered the party to cease any effort to reform the law. Subsequently, in August 2024, the Court ordered the dissolution of the Move Forward Party. == Statistics ==

== Social context and impact ==

was accorded an almost divine reverence, which still holds true today. According to King RamaIV, insults to the king are also insults to his power source—the people. The king felt every subject is also insulted. Human rights groups say the lèse-majesté laws have been used as a political weapon to stifle free speech. However, Connors argued that while some have used it as a political weapon, it has always been in the interests of the palace. ==Contemporary scope of the law==

{{Quote frame|align=right|width=30% Section 112 of Thai Criminal Code currently reads as follows: "Whoever defames, insults or threatens the King, the Queen, the Heir-apparent or the Regent, shall be punished with imprisonment of three to fifteen years." As lèse-majesté is one of the offences relating to the security of the kingdom, according to Section 7 of the Thai Criminal Code. Even alleged offences committed outside the kingdom can be punished within Thailand. Thai courts have demonstrated they will prosecute and jail even non-Thai citizens for offences committed outside of the kingdom as proven in the case against American citizen Joe Gordon who police arrested in May 2011 when he visited Thailand for medical treatment. The court later sentenced him to five years in jail. David Streckfuss opined that lèse majesté law is not necessarily controversial, even some Western democratic countries seem to have severe jail punishment, if rarely used. Police Special Branch Commander Lt Gen Theeradech Rodpho-thong, who refused to file charges of lèse-majesté against activists who launched a petition to oust Privy Council President Prem Tinsulanonda, was demoted within days of the incident by Police Commander Seripisut Temiyavet. The Supreme Court of Thailand decided in 2013 that the law also applies to all previous monarchs, further broadening the law's reach. In 2013, a man was found guilty of "preparing and attempting" to commit an act of lèse-majesté. He had images and captions deemed lèse-majesté in his electronic device—which, his accusers said, potentially could have been spread online. He was found guilty despite the law providing that mere preparation of the act is not a legal offence. In 2016, a singer and activist, in addition to his prison sentence for defaming the monarchy, was ordered to write a song promoting "national reconciliation" after completing his sentence. The court order to write a song is outside the scope of the punishments in the Criminal Code. Comments on the sufficiency economy theory published by King Bhumibol Adulyadej can also lead to lèse-majesté prosecution, as in the case of Udom Taepanich in 2024. Because of the uncertain and unpredictable nature of the offence charges, defendants often do not contest them and plead guilty. Article 14 of the Computer Crimes Act BE 2550 (2007), which broadly bars the circulation through computer systems of information and material deemed detrimental to national security, has also been used to prosecute cases of lèse-majesté. There have been occasions when lèse-majesté cases have been transferred to court-martial, most recently during the National Council for Peace and Order regime after the 2014 coup. There are differences between court-martial decisions compared to civilian court ones, including protection of any previous monarchs. Alleged counts are considered separately, making the punishment twice as harsh; the right to bail is restricted in wartime. Even so, pre-trial detentions are widespread and requests for bail are difficult; recent offenders used hunger strike to highlight the issue. Detainees are seen barefoot and shackled at the ankles when brought to court. Judges have also said the accuser did not necessarily have to prove the information was factual claiming, "because if it is true, it is more defamatory, and if it isn't true, then it's super-defamatory". Asked why the Criminal Court did not grant the benefit of the doubt to the defendant in the case of Ampon Tangnoppakul, Court of Justice spokesperson Sitthisak Wanachaikit replied: When the public prosecutor who institutes the proceedings can exercise his burden of proof to the extent of bringing to light the evil intent of the defendant...the defendant needs to be punished according to the gravity of the case. Professor Peter Leyland of SOAS, University of London and Professor Emeritus of London Metropolitan University, explained: It [the lese majeste offence] can be committed entirely without criminal intent. There is no need for the prosecuting authorities to bring any evidence to bear relating to foresight on the part of the defendant with regard to the fact of the statement or conduct. [...] The police, prosecuting authorities and judges not only act in the name of the King, but there is an expectation that their loyalty to the Crown will be reflected in an outcome that confirms the dignity of the King at the expense of the accused. Court proceedings are lengthy, and defendants often pleading guilty as the quickest route to freedom. Court decisions are often overturned in the higher courts, thus lengthening the proceedings. Civilian courts often handed sentences of five years imprisonment per count, while military courts often handed sentences of 10 years per count. ==Government measures==

Internet censorship The Office of Prevention and Suppression of Information Technology Crimes maintains a "war room" to monitor for pages which disparage the monarchy. A web crawler is used to search the internet. When an offending image or language is found, the office obtains a court order blocking the site. On 28October 2008, The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT) announced plans to spend about 100–500million baht to build a gateway to block websites with contents defaming the royal institution. In 2008, more than 4,800 webpages deemed insulting to Thailand's royal family were blocked. In December 2010, nearly 60,000 websites had been banned for alleged insults against Bhumibol. In 2011, the number increased to 70,000. On 4April 2007, the Thai government blocked Thai access to YouTube as a result of a video clip which it deemed insulting to the king. The website of Same Sky Books, publishers of Same Sky magazine, was shut down after comments on its bulletin board questioned mainstream media's claims that the entire country was in mourning over the death of Princess Galyani Vadhana. In December 2015, the court verdict against Chiranuch Premchaiporn, webmaster of the news website Prachatai, was upheld in the highest court: "an eight-month suspended jail sentence and a 20,000 baht fine". Previously, she had been jailed without bail for nearly a year for not removing—in 2008—an allegedly insulting comment from an article fast enough. Although the comments did not directly mention Bhumibol or members of his family, the court found that Chiranuch displayed an intent to insult. Arrested in September 2010, she could face up to 50 years' imprisonment if found guilty. In 2016, Facebook blocked users in Thailand from accessing a page satirising Thailand's royal family, citing the lèse-majesté law. Around the same time, there was speculation that the junta was able to obtain private chat logs of Facebook users. In 2019, the Facebook page "Royalist Marketplace" was launched as a forum by academic Pavin Chachavalpongpun to discuss and criticise the Thai monarchy freely. The Thai authorities shut down access in Thailand to the Facebook page, which has accumulated around one million users. Facebook may be appealing, while Chachavalpongpun is facing a charge of cybercrime. He has since launched a replacement Facebook page. Abuse of psychiatry On 9 July 2020, Tiwagorn Withiton, a Facebook user who went viral after posting a picture of himself wearing a t-shirt printed with the message, "I lost faith in the monarchy" was forcibly detained by police officers and admitted to Rajanagarindra Psychiatric Hospital in Khon Kaen. Tiwagorn is quoted as saying, "I well understand that it is political to have to make people think I'm insane. I won't hold it against the officials if there is a diagnosis that I'm insane, because I take it that they have to follow orders." He was discharged about two weeks later. == Opinion ==

Support The stated rationale for supporting lèse-majesté often center around Thai identity and the presence of lèse-majesté and crimes against head of state law in other countries. Borwornsak Uwanno, Thai legal scholar, said that countries limited free speech according to their cultural-legal circumstances. A Thai official said that the lèse-majesté law is similar to a libel law for commoners. Some abuse their rights by spreading hate speech or distorted information to incite hatred towards the monarchical institution. He also assert that those who are accused of lèse-majesté have the right to a fair trial, and the opportunity to contest the charges and assistance from a lawyer, as well as the right to appeal. An attorney said lèse-majesté does not go against democracy and does not know why there is activism around the law. The Rubbish Collection Organization, a fascist ultra-royalist organization, supports persecution for lèse-majesté, and launched an ongoing online campaign of mobbing and doxxing victims, together with other methods of intimidation. A judge in a 2016 lèse-majesté case, when a man was sentenced to seven years and six months in prison said he would have given him a longer sentence, but the court's deputy president advised him on giving a shorter term. Opposition The lèse-majesté law is described as "draconian". Amnesty International considers anyone jailed for insulting Bhumibol to be a political prisoner; if they had a peaceful expression and intent, a prisoner of conscience. Sulak Sivaraksa, a Thai social activist, said that he felt sad that most Thai intellectuals did not see any harm in this law, calling them "docile livestock." The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, David Kaye, commenting "Public figures, including those exercising the highest political authority, may be subject to criticism, and the fact that some forms of expression are considered to be insulting to a public figure is not sufficient to justify restrictions or penalties." Kaye went on to say that such laws, "have no place in a democratic country" and called for Thailand to repeal them. In November 2015, Glyn T. Davies, the US ambassador to Thailand, gave a speech criticising the long prison sentences handed to those found guilty of lèse-majesté. Police then investigated him. Activists against the law or those who seek to reform it include: Mainueng Kor Kunatee (a poet who was assassinated in 2014); Somsak Jeamteerasakul; Giles Ji Ungpakorn; Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a former diplomat, and an associate professor at the Kyoto University and a leader of a campaign to abolish Article 112 of the Thai criminal code; and The Nitirat group—an association of law lecturers who campaign for constitutional reform and a change of Thailand's lèse-majesté law—including Worachet Pakeerut, Piyabutr Saengkanokkul, and Sawatree Suksri. During the 2020–2021 Thai protests, demands on reform of the monarchy, which included reform or abolition of lèse-majesté law, were part of the protest goals. Satirical reaction Not The Nation, an anonymous website that satirises a Thai newspaper, The Nation, satirised the media and the public response to the case of Thai American Joe Gordon in contrast to that paid to the drug-related case of Australian Schapelle Corby and to the pardoning of Greek-Cypriot-Australian Harry Nicolaides. NTN later satirised plea bargaining in the "Uncle SMS" case. In December 2013, NTN circumvented the chilling effect of LMIT on discussion of succession with a discussion of the abdication of royal dog Thong Daeng. In July 2014, British comedian John Oliver described Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn as a "buffoon" and showed the leaked video of Vajiralongkorn and his topless wife celebrating the birthday of the prince's poodle, Air Chief Marshal Foo Foo, in a satirical piece about monarchy in general on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. The Thai military government described Oliver as "undermining the royal institution", to which Oliver responded by saying: "It seems my Thailand vacation is going to have to be postponed very much indefinitely. If I can bring down your monarchy, you have—at best—a wobbly monarchy." == Related controversies ==

The Charoen Pokphand (CP) group is alleged to have supported Section 112 via a CP Freshmart marketing discount campaign that ran from 12–15 February 2021 titled "LOVE112" that offered a 112 baht discount for online purchases worth at least 666 baht. == Abolition campaign ==

On 5 November 2021, the law activist group iLaw launched the first ever campaign to abolish Section 112 of the Penal Code through an initiative petition. The petition attracted more than 100,000 subscribers overnight, despite Thai law merely requiring 10,000 signatures for the petition to be submitted to the parliament. == See also ==

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