Thai court sentences prominent activist to 2 years for defaming king

A Thai court on Wednesday sentenced Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak, a leader of the country’s pro-democracy movement, to two years in prison in absentia for violating the nation’s strict law against royal defamation.

The Criminal Court in Bangkok convicted the 26-year-old for posting images and messages on social media in August 2021 that were deemed to have defamed King Maha Vajiralongkorn (Rama X).

“After examining the evidence, the court found the images and messages posted by the defendant to be genuine. The general public would interpret these as defaming and devaluing King Rama X,” part of the verdict read.

Parit was one of the core leaders of the youth-organized anti-junta movement that staged massive street protests in Bangkok in 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when a military government was still in power.  

Last week, the Criminal Court sentenced another prominent pro-democracy activist, Arnon Nampa, to an extra fours in prison for violating the lèse-majesté law, which shields the royal family from insults and carries a maximum jail term of 15 years for each conviction. Arnon is now serving a total of 14 years in prison based on four convictions.

Parit was also absent from the court on June 25, when he was originally scheduled to appear to hear the verdict. A warrant was then issued for his arrest. 

On Wednesday, only his lawyer was present in court, prompting the court to deliver the guilty verdict in absentia, as allowed under Thai law.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR), the legal aid group representing Parit, reported that the court had initially sentenced him to three years but reduced the term to two years due to his partial cooperation.

Parit’s whereabouts are unknown, and even TLHR said they did not have information on this.

“The prosecutor summarized the indictment, stating that between July 28 and August 1, 2021, the defendant, who owns the Facebook account named ‘Parit Chiwarak,’ posted and disseminated an image of himself holding a portrait of King Rama X with insulting messages,” TLHR said in a statement.

Parit had previously been jailed for six months, from August 2021 until February 2022, when he was freed on bail as he awaited his trial on lèse-majesté charges.

Since 2020, a record number of people – at least 272 – have been prosecuted in Thailand on royal defamation charges, according to Poonsuk Poonsukcharoen, a lawyer with TLHR. They were among close to 2,000 people arrested and prosecuted for taking part in the anti-government protests, among other activities.

“The person prosecuted the most is Parit at 25 cases and Arnon Nampa, who faces 14 cases,” Poonsuk said.

Their cases reflect an ongoing conflict between pro-democracy activists and the Thai government over the controversial lèse-majesté law which, critics say, is being used to suppress political dissent. A civilian-led government took office in Thailand last September but the ruling coalition retains ties to the military.

The law’s continued application and enforcement has become a key issue in debates about Thailand’s democratic future, with growing calls for reform, especially among younger Thais.

Piyapong Pimpaluck, an assistant professor at Chiang Mai University’s Social Research Institute, urged the government to cease using undemocratic laws against citizens.

“The current situation reflects that Article 112 [lèse-majesté], a tool and ideology for eliminating political enemies of the 2014 coup, still persists, contradicting the ideas of the new generation calling for democratic principles,” he told BenarNews.

“If the state doesn’t want more public demands, it should abolish laws that restrict people’s freedom to lead the country back to democracy and gain international acceptance.”

Ruj Chuenban in Bangkok contributed to this report.