Woman jailed for record 43 YEARS in Thailand for insulting monarchy

Woman is jailed for a record 43 YEARS in Thailand for insulting the monarchy by posting audio clips deemed critical of the royal family

  • A woman in her sixties, named Anchan, has been handed a 43-year sentence
  • She admitted to 23 counts of violating the lese majeste law by sharing audio
  • More commonly known as Article 112, the rule prevents criticism of monarchy

A former civil servant has been given a record prison sentence of 43 years after admitting to having defamed the monarchy in Thailand.

On Tuesday, at the Bangkok Criminal Court, the woman, named Anchan, was sentenced for 29 counts of violating the country´s lese majeste law after sharing audio clips to Facebook and YouTube with comments deemed critical of the monarchy, the group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights said.

The majeste law, more commonly known as Article 112, which forbids people from criticising the Thai monarchy is punishable by three to 15 years’ imprisonment per count.

The woman, in her sixties, was handed 43 years and six months in prison – a sentence which had been reduced from 87 years after her guilty plea.

Her case dates back six years, when anti-establishment sentiment was growing after a 2014 military coup led by Prayuth, Commander of the Royal Thai Army. She was held in jail from January 2015 to November 2018.

A former civil servant, named Anchan (pictured), has been handed a record prison sentence of 43 years after pleading guilty to having defamed the monarchy in Thailand 

The woman denied the charges when her case was first heard in military court, where lese majeste offenses were prosecuted for a period after the coup.

However, after her case was transferred to a criminal court, she pleaded guilty in the hope that leniency would be shown because she had only shared the audio rather than liking or commenting on any posts.

She said: ‘I thought it was nothing. There were so many people who shared this content and listened to it. The guy (who made the content) had done it for so many years.

‘So I didn´t really think this through and was too confident and not being careful enough to realize at the time that it wasn´t appropriate.’

Anchan had worked as a civil servant for 40 years and had been arrested just one year before she was due to retire, with a conviction meaning she would lose her pension. 

After King Maha Vajralongkorn (pictured) took the throne in 2016 following his father’s death, he informed the government that he did not wish to see the lese majeste law used. However, as the number of protests grew last year, and criticism of the monarchy got harsher, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha warned a line had been crossed and the law would be used

The sentence, which comes amid an ongoing protest movement that has seen unprecedented public criticism of the monarchy, was swiftly condemned by rights groups.

‘Today´s court verdict is shocking and sends a spine-chilling signal that not only criticisms of the monarchy won´t be tolerated, but they will also be severely punished,’ said Sunai Phasuk, a senior researcher for the group Human Rights Watch.

Thailand’s Article 112 is controversial not only because it can be used to punish acts as simple as liking a Facebook post but also because anyone can lodge a complaint of royal defamation, meaning the accused could be tied up in legal proceedings for years.

During Thailand’s last 15 years of political unrest, the law has frequently been used as a political weapon as well as in personal vendettas. Actual public criticism of the monarchy, however, had until recently been extremely rare.

That changed during the past year, when young protesters calling for democratic reforms also issued calls for the reform of the monarchy, which has long been regarded as an almost sacred institution by many in Thailand.

The woman denied the charges when her case was first heard in military court, where lese majeste offenses were prosecuted for a period after the coup. However, after her case was transferred to a criminal court, she pleaded guilty in the hope that leniency would be shown because she had only shared audio rather than liking or commenting on any posts 

The protesters have said the institution is unaccountable and holds too much power in what is supposed to be a democratic constitutional monarchy.

Authorities at first let much of the commentary and criticism go without charge, but since November has arrested around 50 people and charged them with lese majeste. 

Sunai Phasuk said: ‘It can be seen that Thai authorities are using lese majeste prosecution as their last resort measure in response to the youth-led democracy uprising that seeks to curb the king´s powers and keep him within the bound of constitutional rule. 

‘Thailand´s political tensions will now go from bad to worse.’   

After King Maha Vajralongkorn took the throne in 2016 following his father’s death, he informed the government that he did not wish to see the lese majeste law used. 

However, as the number of protests grew last year, and criticism of the monarchy got harsher, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha warned a line had been crossed and the law would be used.

The protest movement has lost steam since the arrests and new restrictions on public gatherings that followed a surge in coronavirus cases.

The previous longest lese majeste sentence was issued in 2017 to a 35-year-old man who posted social media posts deemed defamatory to the monarchy.

The salesman was initially sentenced to 70 years but had his sentence halved after pleading guilty. 

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