2024-01-20 03:50:00
Protesters hold placards once morest Article 112 of the Thai Penal Code, which stipulates lese majeste/Jack Taylor/AFP/Getty Images
2024.01.20 Sat posted at 12:50 JST
(CNN) Thailand’s Court of Appeal on Thursday extended the prison sentence of a man accused of insulting the royal family to 50 years, the longest sentence ever. Human rights groups say it is believed to be the harshest penalty ever handed out under the country’s strict lese majeste law.
The 30-year-old online clothing seller and political activist was sentenced last year to 28 years in prison. This was because he was deemed to have insulted the king in a post on social media.
However, on the 18th, an appeals court in Chiang Rai, northern Thailand, found the man guilty of regarding a dozen other violations of the lese majeste law. He added 22 years to his original sentence. This was announced in a statement by Thai human rights lawyers’ organization TLHR.
Thailand’s lese majeste laws are among the strictest in the world. If you insult the king, queen, or heir apparent to the throne, you might be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison for each charge. Even talking regarding the royal family is fraught with risks.
If convicted, prison terms can extend to decades. Hundreds of people have been prosecuted for violating lese majeste laws in recent years.
The man in question was arrested in April 2021 for 27 posts on Facebook. The court found him guilty of 14 violations of the lese majeste law. He was sentenced to 28 years in prison in January 2023.
It is unclear what content was included in the post.
On the 18th, the Court of Appeals not only upheld the original verdict, but also found him guilty on 11 of the 13 charges that had been dismissed by the lower court. This was revealed by TLHR.
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