iLaw, a group that tracks royal defamation
cases stated, “The court punished him with seven years per count.
Altogether he was given 70 years, but it was reduced in half
because he confessed.” According to iLaw, Wichai initially denied
the charges against him, but he eventually confessed after waiting
more than a year in jail for the legal proceedings to begin. The
lèse-majesté cases are usually shrouded in secrecy, as the media is
forced to avoid many of the details to avoid violating the law
themselves. Reporters were not allowed to enter the military court
where today’s verdict was read. News agency The Khaosod reported
that Pavinee Khoomlao of Thai Lawyers for Human Rights said that
Wichai hopes to have his sentence reduced by royal amnesty on the
occasion of the King’s birthday on 28 July. The Thai
Lawyers for Human Rights are currently assisting in 10 cases
of lèse-majesté.
Later that same day, another man was
sentenced to two and half years by a criminal court for uploading
an audio clip from an underground political radio show that was
also deemed insulting to the monarchy. The use of the lèse-majesté
laws has gone up since the royalist junta took power in 2014, and
more than 100 people have been charged under the law since the
coup.
The cases are being watched closely, and
the United Nations’ rights body has already warned that
Thailand’s widespread use of the law “may constitute crimes against
humanity.”
