Court hands 'resistant citizen' 11 years

Court hands 'resistant citizen' 11 years

Burin: Confessed during trial
Burin: Confessed during trial

The Military Court on Friday sentenced a member of the anti-coup Resistant Citizen group to 11 years and four months in jail for lese majeste and violating the Computer Crime Act.

The charges against Burin Intin stemmed from a video and messages, deemed insulting to the monarchy, posted on his Facebook page last year.

Burin was arrested on April 27 last year during the Resistant Citizen group's "stand still" protest at Victory Monument.

He was among 16 protesters detained by police at the protest, which was staged to oppose arrests by the military of people accused of violating the Computer Crime Act in Bangkok and Khon Kaen.

Burin was separated from other members of the group by the military who detained him on suspicion that he may have violated Section 112 of the Criminal Code, known as the lese majeste law.

After being interrogated, he was sent to the Technology Crime Suppression Division and then remanded in the Bangkok Remand Prison.

Burin had been closely monitored after intelligence agencies discovered messages posted on his Facebook page criticising the government and the National Council for Peace and Order, officials said.

Some chat messages also were deemed as violating the lese majeste law, according to the officials.

Three computers at his home were seized and examined following his arrest.

The officials said Burin told them he began interacting with the Resistant Citizen Group in September 2015, after which he always contacted group leaders through Facebook.

They also said he used his smart phone to post online messages and he did not think that the authorities would be aware of the postings.

For each group gathering, Burin said arrangements were made on Facebook, the officials added.

A source at the military court said Burin confessed during his trial on Tuesday.

During sentencing yesterday, the court initially commuted his term by half due to his confession.

However because he had been convicted for another crime less than five years ago the court increased his sentence by a third, which meant he will have to serve 11 years and four months in total.

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