The Criminal Court on Wednesday sentenced activist lawyer Arnon Nampa, 39, to four years in prison on Wednesday for royal defamation in connection with a social media post made in 2021, his lawyer said.
Mr Arnon, 39, is already serving a four-year sentence handed down last September for making remarks about the monarchy at a speech during a pro-democracy rally in 2020. The sentences will run consecutively, so he will serve eight years, local media reported.
The lese-majeste law, Section 112 of the Criminal Code, carries a maximum jail sentence of up to 15 years for each perceived royal insult, a punishment that international human rights groups have called extreme.
Wednesday’s ruling is the second of 14 cases against Mr Arnon, a lawyer-turned-protest leader of the youth-led movement that arose in 2020, calling for reform of the monarchy among other changes.
“Mr Arnon has denied wrongdoing,” his lawyer Krisadang Nutcharus told Reuters, adding that his team would lodge an appeal and if necessary, take the case to the Supreme Court.
Mr Arnon has been detained at the Bangkok Remand Prison since his sentencing on Sept 26 last year in the first lese-majeste chase.
After the courts rejected three petitions for his temporary release on bail pending appeal, he instructed his lawyers to abandon further attempts.
According to data from Thai Lawyers for Human Rights to Dec 31 last year, 1,938 people have been prosecuted for political participation and expression since the beginning of the Free Youth protests in July 2020. At least 262 are facing lese-majeste charges under Section 112 and 138 have been charged with sedition under Section 116. Nine cases under Section 116 came before the courts in December and all were dismissed.