Jatuporn Prompan, chief of the red-shirt movement, has been sentenced to two years in prison for defaming Democrat Party leader and former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.
The Criminal Court on Wednesday said Mr Jatuporn, chairman of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), breached Sections 326 and 328 of the Criminal Code by accusing Mr Abhisit on two occasions of delaying a request for a royal pardon for ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and ordering the use of force against protesters.
Jatuporn: Court approved bail
In a speech to UDD supporters on Ratchadamnoen Avenue on Oct 11, 2009, Mr Jatuporn accused Mr Abhisit of delaying the royal pardon application for Thaksin which was backed by 3.5 million people, the ruling said.
Later, on Oct 17, Mr Jatuporn accused Mr Abhisit of being a "criminal" and "murderer" because he ordered crackdowns on UDD protesters in Bangkok resulting in two deaths, said the ruling. His rally speeches were televised on the UDD's People Channel.
In his testimony, Mr Abhisit explained the procedure of processing the application starting from verifying the signatures submitted, to forwarding it to the Office of His Majesty's Principal Private Secretary.
After the signatures are verified, the application is forwarded to the Corrections Department, the Justice Minister, and the Prime Minister, who sends it to the palace.
Mr Jatuporn, quoting Mr Abhisit, said the process should take 60 days, but the court found the UDD leader made his remarks before the 60-day period was up.
The court found the deadline of the 60-day period mentioned by Mr Abhisit ended on Oct 17, 2009 while Mr Jatuporn made such an accusation in advance on Oct 11 the same year.
The judges found Mr Jatuporn who was a former politician should be familiar with the procedure for processing a royal pardon application.
Yet the defendant still was tempted to distort the information about the procedure to mislead the public, the ruling said.
As for Mr Jatuporn's claim that Mr Abhisit was responsible for the crackdown, the court said Mr Jatuporn failed to prove his accusation.
The judges sentenced Mr Jatuporn to two years in jail, with no suspension, for defamation instigating unrest.
Mr Jatuporn didn't show any emotion when listening to the ruling yesterday.
His lawyer, Winyat Chartmontri, submitted a bail request along with a surety of 200,000 baht on behalf of Mr Jatuporn. He said his client intends to appeal against the ruling.
The court approved bail.