Over two months in 2021, an online clothing seller shared 27 posts on Facebook that included clips from John Oliver’s “Last Week Tonight,” a Fox animated series and a BBC documentary. The content was deemed offensive to the monarchy, and this week his sentence was extended to 50 years in prison.
It is the harshest sentence ever imposed under a law that makes it a crime to criticize the royals, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, a group of lawyers that helps people detained after the coup Military State of 2014.
Thailand has one of the strictest lèse majesté laws in the world; it prohibits defaming, insulting or threatening the king and other members of the royal family. Known as Section 112, the charge carries a minimum sentence of three years and a maximum sentence of 15 years. It is the only law in Thailand that imposes a minimum prison sentence.
Although a civilian government took office in September after nearly a decade of military rule, the number of prosecutions against people who criticized the monarchy has not diminished. Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has said she will not change or abolish the law, which observers say will only exacerbate the divide in a nation that remains deeply polarized.
“Thailand is clearly not an open society, no matter what the government says,” said Sunai Phasuk, senior Thailand researcher for Human Rights Watch.
Mongkhon Thirakhot, 30, a clothing seller and political activist from the northern province of Chiang Rai, was initially sentenced in 2023 to 28 years in prison for 14 social media posts considered insulting to the king.
On Thursday, the Chiang Rai Court of Appeal found Mr. Mongkhon guilty of 11 more counts of violating the Royal Criticism Law and added 22 years in prison to his sentence, according to advocacy manager Akarachai Chaimaneekarakate at Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.
Mr Akarachai said social media posts were shared episodes eight And 12 from Season 1 of John Oliver’s “Last Week Tonight,” in which the host made fun of the Thai king, his wife and their poodle. The other offending message included a clip from the Fox animated series “American Dad.” which showed the characters flying”the king’s inhaler encrusted with diamonds.” Mr. Mongkhon was also convicted for publishing “The Soul of a Nation,” a BBC documentary about the Thai royal family.
Mr. Mongkhon received a very harsh sentence due to the large number of Facebook posts, as well as a unique feature of the law that imposes a minimum sentence for each charge, according to Mr. Akarachai. He said Mr Mongkhon received a reduced sentence because the judge found he had cooperated during the trial.
“I think it is safe to say that it is now undeniable that Thailand’s anachronistic lese majeste law is in dire need of reform,” Mr Akarachai said.
This year, Thai courts are expected to rule on hundreds of lese majeste cases, four years after 2020 protests sent thousands of disaffected young Thais onto the streets. They then called for controlling the power of the king and the palace, thus breaking the taboo of never questioning the monarchy. Then-Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, the general who seized power in the 2014 coup, called on all government officials to “use every law” to prosecute anyone who criticizes the monarchy.
Because anyone can file a complaint under the Royal Criticism Act, hundreds of lèse-majesté complaints were filed after the protests. Since then, at least 262 people have been charged with breaking the law, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.
Earlier this week, a Thai court extended the sentence of Arnon Nampa, a prominent activist and lawyer, by four years for three Facebook posts considered defamatory of the monarchy.
Mr. Arnon, 39, is already serving a four-year prison sentence handed down in September for his speech at a pro-democracy rally in 2020 that touched on the monarchy. The sentences will be consecutive, so he will serve eight years in prison. He is still awaiting the verdict against him in 12 other similar cases.
This month, a court is expected to issue a verdict against Pita Limjaroenrat, the former opposition leader who led the Move Forward party to electoral victory last year. He is accused of seeking to end Thailand’s constitutional democracy with the king as head of state through the Move Forward election campaign to change the royal defamation law.
Civil society organizations are pushing for an amnesty bill for those accused of participating in political protests. Mr Akarachai said his group had more than 800 such cases.
“If the government persists in wanting to pursue every case to the end, we will be in the same place in 2025 and 2026,” he said.
The previous record conviction for lèse-majesté dates back to 2021, when Anchan Preelert, a 65-year-old former civil servant, was sentenced to 43 years in prison for sharing audio clips on YouTube and Facebook between 2014 and 2015, deemed critical of the royal family.
The court initially sentenced Ms. Anchan to 87 years in prison, but reduced it by half because she agreed to plead guilty.
