The Criminal Court on Wednesday acquitted five anti-government protesters indicted on charges of attempted violence against Her Majesty the Queen during an incident involving a royal motorcade in 2020.
The case stemmed from an event at the height of pro-democracy demonstrations in October 2020, in which a motorcade carrying the Queen was heckled as it drove past a group of protesters.
The case was being closely watched by the public and legal scholars as the charges were laid under a rarely used section of the Criminal Code that allows for the death sentence in the most egregious instances.
Video of the incident on Oct 14, 2020 showed authorities pushing activists away from the convoy.
However, witness testimony indicated that everyone — police and protesters included — appeared to have been caught off-guard by the sudden appearance of the motorcade approaching Phitsanulok Road near Government House.
The court found that police had not prepared for any such event, and there were still cars parked on the roadside. There had been no signs posted or announcements made before the procession.
Even the crowd control officers at the scene only found out at the last moment that a royal procession was coming, witnesses said.
“The court saw that police did not clear the way for the royal motorcade … there was no announcement before the procession,” Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) said on Wednesday.
“Witness testimony was different and even police in the area did not know there would be a royal motorcade (passing through).”
As the procession passed by, public officials drew close to the vehicles and the crowd came to believe their rally would be dispersed. Many cheered and held up three fingers in protest but they were protesting against the police, not the royal procession, witnesses said.
Five activists had been indicted under Section 110 of the Criminal Code, which punishes violence or attempted violence against the Queen, heir-apparent or regent with a minimum sentence of 16 years in prison.
More serious breaches of the same law can lead to life imprisonment or even a death sentence.
Most members of the public were unaware that such a law even existed; most are familiar only with Section 112, the royal defamation law. Even lawyers said they could not recall if Section 110 had been used before.
Following the events of Oct 14, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha declared a short-lived “severe” state of emergency before dawn of the following day.
The five activists charged in the motorcade incident were Bunkueanun “Francis” Paothong, Suranat Panprasert, Ekachai Hongkangwan, Chanathip Chaichayangkul and Panupat Phaikoh.
Mr Bunkueanun, 23, said on Wednesday he was relieved by the outcome of the case.
“I’m really glad … we’ve been fighting this and insisting on our innocence,” he told Reuters after the ruling.
The motorcade case is one of dozens involving lese-majeste or sedition charges laid against supporters of the pro-democracy movement and still making their way through the courts.
According to data from TLHR to May 31 this year, 1,914 people have been prosecuted for political participation and expression since the beginning of the Free Youth protests in July 2020. At least 250 are facing lese-majeste charges under Section 112 and 130 have been charged with sedition under Section 116.