Thai court acquits opposition politician accused of royal insult
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Mr Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit had been accused of lese majeste and violating the country’s cyber laws during a January 2021 live stream.
PHOTO: REUTERS
BANGKOK - A Thai criminal court has acquitted a prominent Thai opposition political figure charged with cybercrimes and insulting the royal family during a 2021 Facebook live stream, his lawyer said on May 28.
Mr Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, the 47-year-old founder of the progressive political movement aligned with the current opposition People’s Party, had been accused of lese majeste and violating the country’s cyberlaws during the January 2021 live stream, in which he said the government had mishandled its Covid-19 vaccine campaign and unfairly favoured Siam Bioscience, a company owned by King Maha Vajiralongkorn.
He was formally indicted in 2022.
Thailand has one of the world’s strictest lese majeste laws, and a conviction carries a maximum prison sentence of 15 years.
Breaches of its Computer Crimes Act are also punishable by up to five years in prison.
Mr Thanathorn’s lawyer Krisadang Nutcharat said the prosecutor has 30 days to appeal against the court’s sentence.
The office of the Attorney-General did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mr Thanathorn was banned from politics for 10 years by the Constitutional Court in 2020 over a loan he extended to the now-dissolved Future Forward Party, the predecessor of the People’s Party. REUTERS
