Thai MP Faces Six-Year Sentence for Alleged Monarchy Insult
A former Thai activist who transitioned into a lawmaker has been handed a six-year prison term for allegedly insulting the influential monarchy through social media.
Rukchanok Srinork, a member of the Move Forward Party (MFP), received the sentence on Wednesday due to a set of posts considered defamatory towards the royal institution, as stated by her lawyer and fellow members of the progressive political party.
“Rukchanok Srinork received a three-year sentence under a 112 (lese-majeste) charge and another three years under a Computer Crimes Act charge,” stated Chaithawat Tulathon, leader of the Move Forward Party (MFP), in an announcement to the AFP news agency.
Srinork has applied for bail, offering 300,000 baht ($8,500) as security.
If the court denies her bail, the 29-year-old risks disqualification as a member of parliament for Bangkok. Her lawyer and fellow lawmaker, Weeranan Huadsri, informed Reuters that she intends to appeal the sentence, emphasizing her denial of all charges.
Rukchanok was found guilty of retweeting posts in 2020 on the social media platform now known as X, concerning a company owned by King Maha Vajiralongkorn and the production of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Weaponised
Thailand’s lese-majeste law stands as one of the most stringent globally, safeguarding the king, queen, heir, and regent from any form of criticism and imposing a 15-year imprisonment for every perceived offense against the monarchy.
Detractors argue that the law has been employed as a tool to suppress dissent.
The Computer Crimes Act has faced condemnation from rights organizations for providing authorities with excessively wide-ranging powers to curtail freedom of speech.
Charges under the laws, referred to as “112” in Thailand after the relevant section of the criminal code, have surged since the youth-led pro-democracy street protests in 2020.
Rukchanok rose to prominence as an activist within a youth-led democracy movement that opposed the government, advocating for reforms to both the palace and the lese-majeste law.
The movement, at times attracting crowds exceeding 100,000 people, aimed for substantial changes.
Subsequently, she became a member of the progressive Move Forward Party (MFP), which actively campaigned for the reform of laws against royal insults. In the general election held in May, Rukchanok secured a parliamentary seat.
Although the MFP won the popular vote, it faced challenges in forming a government due to staunch opposition from lawmakers affiliated with the royalist military.
Since 2020, at least 262 individuals have faced charges for insulting the monarchy, as reported by the advocacy group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.