A Thai court of appeals has handed a political activist a 50-year prison term for insulting the monarchy, a record sentence for the offense.
Mongkhon Thirakot, originally sentenced to 28 years, was found guilty of 25 violations and had his term increased.
The law, known as lèse-majesté, has been used to quash political dissent, with over 260 people charged since 2020.
Mongkhon Thirakot, an activist and online clothing vendor from Chiang Rai, has been sentenced to 50 years in prison on a royal defamation charge for a number of Facebook posts made in March 2021, after the Appeal Court ruled to increase the sentence given to him by the Chiang Rai… pic.twitter.com/etIbDYLG3I
— Prachatai English (@prachatai_en) January 19, 2024
The court’s decision overturned previous acquittals, citing that the law applies to past rulers as well.
The activist’s defense plans to appeal to the Supreme Court.
This comes after another activist received a four-year prison term for violating the same law.
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