Thailand: Man jailed for 50 years for defaming monarchy

Source: BBC

Thailand: Man jailed for 50 years for defaming monarchy

18 January 2024

By Jonathan Head, South East Asia correspondent
Bangkok

A Thai court has sentenced a man to 50 years in jail for comments deemed to have defamed the monarchy - the highest ever sentence handed down under the country's notorious lese majeste law.

Thirty-year-old Mongkol Thirakot was originally sentenced to 28 years for posts he made three years ago on Facebook.

But on Thursday an appeals court added an extra 22 years to the sentence.

The lese majeste law criminalises any negative comment about the monarchy.

The law, which has been widely criticised, is still in force despite the election last year of a civilian government for the first time in 10 years.

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Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-68020494