Thai magazine editor jailed for 10 years for insulting king
Purchase this article for republication
Buy SPH photos
BANGKOK (REUTERS) - A Thai magazine editor was jailed for 10 years today for insulting the royal family under the country's draconian lese-majeste law.
Somyot Prueksakasemsuk, editor of Voice Of The Oppressed, a magazine devoted to self-exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was found guilty of publishing articles in 2010 defaming King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
The articles criticised the role of a fictional character meant to represent the king, public prosecutors said in a July 2011 report. Discussions about the role of the monarchy are forbidden.
"The accused is a journalist who had a duty to check the facts in these articles before publishing them. He knew the content defamed the monarchy but allowed their publication anyway," a judge said in passing sentence.
