A Thai criminal court sentenced a 43-year-old man to 18 months in prison on June 19 for posting a royal defamation comment in the private Facebook group 'Royalist Marketplace' [1, 2, 3]. The court initially imposed a three-year sentence but halved it after the man confessed, according to Noppol Achamas of Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, who said, "The court initially sentenced him to three years, but because he confessed, the sentence was reduced by half" [1, 2, 3].
The man was granted bail of 100,000 baht while awaiting appeal [1, 2, 3]. Thailand’s lese-majeste law, which protects the royal family from criticism, carries penalties of up to 15 years in prison for each offense [1, 2, 3]. Since 2020, a total of 291 people have been charged under this law [1, 2, 3].
At least 17 people have faced prosecution specifically over comments posted in the 'Royalist Marketplace' group, which has more than 2.2 million members [1, 2, 3]. The group was founded by exiled royal critic and scholar Pavin Chachavalpongpun [1, 2, 3].
The Facebook group gained activity in the aftermath of the youth-led protests of 2020-2021. Those protests called for monarchy reforms and changes to lese-majeste law before losing momentum due to the crackdown on activists, including lese-majeste and other criminal charges [1, 2, 3].
The recent sentence is the latest in a series of lese-majeste prosecutions linked to online comments criticizing the Thai monarchy. The court's decision today follows the established pattern of severe penalties for social media posts deemed insulting to the royal family [1, 2, 3].
