Thailand's Lèse Majesté: Jatupat Boonpattararaksa

Image by: REUTERS

"Repeal Lèse Majesté. Criminal Code Section 112" 

Thailand's Lèse-Majesté Law is said to be among the strictest law in the world as it forbids the insult of the monarchy. And as the years go by, this law continues to be increasingly enforced especially when the Thai military took power in the year 2014 when a coup occurred. Ever since then, many people have been punished with harsh jail sentences even just by committing a tiny, small mistake that jabs at the monarchy.

   

     The Lèse Majesté law in Thailand represents a gross attack on the freedom of speech, freedom of expression, and academic freedom. It is also a fundamental attack on democracy carried out by the military, the palace, and elites. For Thailand, lèse majesté is a very sensitive topic for them and most people in Thailand prefer not to talk about it.

        Under section 112 of Thailand's penal code, "anyone convicted of defaming, insulting, or threatening the king, queen, heir, or regent shall face between 3 to 15 years in prison on, take note, each count."

Image of Jatupat Boonpattararaksa in jail for Lèse Majesté after sharing a profile of King Maha Vajiralongkorn written by the BBC news agency on his Facebook account.

        One of the most high-profile cases of lèse majesté in Thailand involves Jatupat Boonpattararaksa, a student activist and human rights defender that is also known as "Pai Dao Din". He was an outspoken scholiast of the military regime before he was convicted of "liking" and "sharing" a Facebook post linking to a BBC Thai biography of his majesty the king. He was originally sentenced to more than two and a half years but was reduced by half after he confessed. 

        Eventually, he and the other "yellowshirts" — which is a Thai movement protesting against Thaksin Shinawatra and his successors — were granted bail by the King and were released after 6 months of being in prison. In this case, it is obvious why Pai was arrested but around 2,000 others who also liked and shared the same article were not. This is exactly why researchers and the UN says that the lèse majesté law should be revised so that it is less vague and less prone to be used as a political tool. 

Reference/s Used:

BBC News. (2017). Lese-majeste explained: How Thailand forbids insult of its royalty. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-29628191

Global Freedom of Expression. (n.d.). Public Prosecutor v. Jatupat Boonpattararaksa aka Pai Dao Din. Retrieved from https://globalfreedomofexpression.columbia.edu/cases/public-prosecutor-v-jatupat-boonpattararaksa-aka-pai-dao-din/

The ASEAN Post. (2020). What Is Thailand's '112' Royal Defamation Law? Retrieved from https://theaseanpost.com/article/what-thailands-112-royal-defamation-law