Thai man sentenced to 25 years in prison for insulting king

Rights groups Wednesday lambasted a Thai military court for jailing a person for 25 years for posting allegedly defamatory Facebook remarks about the monarchy, one of the toughest known sentences for lese majeste.

The sentencing of Theinsutham Suthijittaseranee, 58, comes as concerns mount over a bid by the nation's junta leader to lift martial law, which has been in effect for 10 months, and invoke a special security measure that would give the military authority over all three branches of government.

Theinsutham was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years for each of five messages posted on the social networking website deemed defamatory to the Thai royal family, his lawyer Sasinan Thamnithinan told Agence France-Presse.

The initial 50-year penalty was halved because the defendant pleaded guilty, but it is still among the toughest yet for insulting the monarchy.

“The 25-year sentence is one of the harshest we are aware of. It is particularly problematic given that it was issued by a military tribunal,” Sam Zarifi, regional director for legal rights group the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), told AFP.

“Given the defendant's age, it comes close to being a life sentence.”

Amnesty International condemned the conviction as “preposterous,” and called for an end to lese majeste prosecutions, which have surged since royalist generals toppled the remnants of the elected government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra last May.

Domestic and international media routinely self-censor their reporting on the Thai monarchy for fear of falling afoul of the law, which carries up to 15 years in jail for every count of insulting, defaming or threatening the monarchy.

Critics of the law say it is used as a weapon against the political enemies of the royalist elite. 

An ICJ has tallied at least 49 people who have been investigated, detained, convicted or awaiting verdicts related to royal defamation rules since the coup. 

Twenty-two of those cases have been tried in military courts where the convicted cannot appeal the verdicts. 

Freedoms of expression and dissent have been curtailed by martial law imposed by the junta since last year's coup.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said he had asked the revered 87-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who is ailing and hospitalized, for permission to lift martial law.

But rights groups have expressed alarm at Prayuth's move to replace martial law with sweeping security powers under Section 44 of an interim constitution.

Brad Adams, Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said the change effectively grants the junta leader unfettered power and “will mark Thailand's deepening descent into dictatorship.”

Addressing hundreds of civil servants in Bangkok earlier as part of Thailand's national Civil Service Day, Prayuth defended Section 44.

“It was written to give powers to the prime minister without issuing laws. It does not mean we will take power away from people. If I use this power in the wrong way, don't you think I will be ashamed?” he said.

Agence France-Presse