Bangkok A 43-year prison sentence given to a woman by a Thai court for insulting the monarchy could be seen as a “waarskuwingskoot” aan betogers wat hervorming in die koninkryk eis, volgens ontleders.
The sentence passed Tuesday is believed to be the toughest ever imposed under the country’s lese majeste laws and comes after months of youth-led protests last year openly calling for reform of Thailand’s powerful monarchy and greater democratic freedoms. The verdict is likely to send a chill through the movement, which has seen dozens of its protest leaders and activists charged with the same crime.
Thailand has some of the world’s strictest laws against defaming or criticizing the king, koningin, heir-apparent or regent. The laws, which are known as lese majeste, can result in a 15-year prison sentence for each violation.
Anchan Preelert, 65, pleaded guilty to sharing audio clips on YouTube and Facebook between 2014 en 2015 that were deemed critical of the kingdom’s royal family, according to the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights. She was convicted of 29 counts, with three years for each.
The criminal court in Bangkok handed an initial sentence of 87 years but halved it because of Anchan’s guilty plea.
“The sentence is the highest ever handed down by Thai court from violating Section 112,” said her lawyer Pawinee Chumsri, referring to the lese majeste law.
Pawinee said they would appeal the verdict and were working to secure bail from the Court of Appeal. “There are two more courts we can try on her legal case,” sy het gese.
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A truck carrying pro-democracy protesters with a loudspeaker system moves through the crowd at an anti-government rally in Bangkok, Thailand, op Woensdag, November 18.
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Pro-democracy protesters pose for photos next to the paint-splattered sign for the police headquarters in Bangkok on November 18.
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Demonstrators use inflatable rubber ducks as shields to protect themselves from water cannons during a demonstration outside the parliament in Bangkok, as lawmakers debate constitutional changes, op November 17.
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A pro-democracy protester and royalist supporter embrace and gesture to other protesters, during a rally in Bangkok on November 17.
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Pro-democracy demonstrators attend an anti-government protest in Bangkok on October 18.
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A pro-democracy protester jokingly uses a traffic cone as a loudpspeaker during an anti-government rally at Victory Monument in Bangkok on October 18.
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A protester waves Thailand’s national flag as others shine their mobile phone lights on October 18.
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Protesters hold up posters of various activists during an anti-government rally at Victory Monument in Bangkok on October 18.
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A protester covered in blue paint lies on a road during a protest in Udom Suk, in Bangkok’s suburbs, op Oktober 17.
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Pro-democracy protesters give the three-finger salute as a police bus passes at Wongwian Yai on October 17.
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Demonstrators wearing ponchos are reflected in a puddle at Wongwian Yai in Bangkok on October 17, as they defy an emergency decree banning gatherings.
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Police fire water cannons at pro-democracy protesters during an anti-government rally in Bangkok on Friday, Oktober 16.
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Protesters face off against riot police on October 16.
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Pro-democracy protesters are blasted by police water cannons on October 16.
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A pro-democracy protester gives the three-finger salute after police fired water cannons during an anti-government rally .
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Protesters gather around a fellow pro-democracy activist to wash his face after police fired water cannons laced with pepper on October 16.
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Activists for democracy gather at a main intersection during an anti-government rally in Bangkok, op Oktober 16.
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Pro-democracy activist Bunkueanun “Francis” Paothong, sentrum, comforts loved ones before he enters the Dusit Police Station on October 16, to answer charges of harming Thailand’s Queen Suthida, two days after protesters nearly obstructed a royal motorcade.
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Motorists ride past riot police in Bangkok on October 15.
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Activists for democracy, van links, Panupong Jadnok, Arnon Nampha, and Parit Chiwarak, raise three-finger salutes on October 15.
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Protesters hold up the three-finger salute en masse on October 15.
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A young pro-democracy protester talks with police during a demonstration in Bangkok on October 15.
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Protesters shine lights from their phones during a demonstration in Bangkok on October 15.
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Pro-democracy sitting atop a police vehicle give the three-finger salute, a reference to the Hunger Games movies, which has become a popular symbol of the protests.
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A policeman looks on from his booth in Bangkok on October 15.
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A pro-democracy protester reacts as police try to detain him during a rally in Bangkok on October 15.
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A pro-democracy protester holds up a sign during a rally on October 15.
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Police line up in front of pro-democracy protesters gathering for a rally on October 15.
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A monk takes photos with his mobile phone as protesters give the three-finger salute on October 15.
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Protesters sleep in front of Government House in Bangkok during a demonstration on October 15.
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Pro-democracy protesters gath outside the Government House in an anti-government rally on Wednesday, Oktober 14.
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Protesters occupy the historic Democracy monument in Bangkok on October 14. Thousands of anti-government protestors rallied near Government House on the anniversary of a 1973 popular uprising that led to the ousting of a military dictatorship.
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Thailand’s Queen Suthida, sentrum, and Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti, center-left, ride inside a royal motorcade as it drives past a pro-democracy rally on October 14.
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Pro-democracy protesters march on October 14.
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Pro-democracy protesters march past a portrait of Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn on October 14.
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A pro-democracy protester, reg, and and a supporter of the monarchy, in yellow, exchange blows at a rally near the Democracy Monument in Bangkok on October 14.
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Blue paint, thrown during a demonstration by pro-democracy protesters, is seen splattered on a policeman, as he stand guards while waiting for the royal motorcade to pass, in Bangkok on October 13.
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Anti-government protesters link hands as they take part in a pro-democracy rally on September 20.
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Anti-government protesters led by activist Panupong “Mike” Jadnok, sentrum, break through a gate at Thammasat University as they arrive for a pro-democracy rally on September 19.
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Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak, 22, a student and one of the leaders of the pro-democracy movement, is allowed by police to read a 10-point manifesto on reforming the monarchy.
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Protesters take part in a fun run during an anti-government rally in front of Democracy Monument in Bangkok on July 26.
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Revival of lese majeste
Since late last year, authorities have brought lese majeste cases against dozens of protesters after more than two years of the law not being used. Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said last June that the law was no longer being applied because of a request from King Maha Vajiralongkorn.
But that was before the democracy movement grew to become the biggest challenge to the establishment the country has seen in the modern era. For more than five months, protesters held regular demonstrations demanding the resignation of Prayut — who seized power in a military coup in 2014 — as well as the dissolution of Parliament and changes to the constitution that they say entrenches the military’s power.
Many protesters felt emboldened to openly call for reform of the monarchy.
Those calls hit a nerve and brought thousands of people out onto the streets, in sometimes violent confrontations with police and pro-monarchy groups. The idea of a sacrosanct monarchy and a King shielded from public scrutiny was torn apart by the younger generation. Their demands included the King be held to account under the constitution, a curb on his powers, and transparency over his finances.
From November 24 to December 31, 2020, ten minste 38 people were charged under lese majeste, including a minor and several university students, according to the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.
Thitinan Pongsudhirak, political scientist and director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University, said Anchan’s sentence “means the lese majeste law is back in full force.”
“Because it dates from the last reign and the coup in 2014, this record-setting sentence after a hiatus is seen as a warning shot to the ongoing youth-led protest movement against the new monarch,” hy het gesê. “It suggests that Thailand’s established centers of power are hunkering down for the long haul.”
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Six-year case
Anchan’s case is not directly linked to the recent charges against pro-democracy protesters. But with the almost three-year hiatus of lese majeste cases over, analysts say the sentence suggests old cases will now be activated.
Anchan, a former civil servant who worked for the Revenue Department, was arrested in January 2015, not long after the military overthrew Thailand’s civilian government in a coup.
After seizing power, Prayut imposed martial law and hundreds of activists were arrested and charged under draconian laws such as sedition and lese majeste in a crackdown aimed to silence any dissent, rights groups gesê.
Anchan’s case was initially brought before a military court and she was detained for almost four years while awaiting trial, her lawyers said. In 2018, she was released on bail and her case was transferred to a civilian criminal court.
Her crime was to share audio clips on social media from an underground radio show that allegedly criticized the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The creator of the clips — a man who went by the name “Banpodj” — was convicted on lese majeste and has already served his sentence.
“This shocking case is yet another serious assault on Thailand’s vanishing space for freedom of expression,” Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific regional director Yamini Mishra said. “The manner of her sentencing is also chilling. The way authorities have evidently sought to maximize the punishments by multiplying criminal charges sends a clear message of deterrence to Thailand’s 50 million internet users.”
