A court in Thailand yesterday convicted and sentenced a recently elected lawmaker to six years in prison for defaming the monarchy under a controversial law that guards the royal institution.
Thai lawmaker Rukchanok Srinork, of the Move Forward Party, arrived at the court building in the capital, Bangkok, while her fellow lawmakers were convening in parliament.
“I submitted a request to postpone [the hearing], because today the new parliament convenes for its first session, but the court refused. So I came to hear the verdict,” she told reporters, standing next to her party leader who was there to lend support.
Photo: EPA-EFE
She was charged over two posts she allegedly shared two years ago on X: A tweet that reportedly defamed the monarchy over links to a COVID-19 vaccine and a retweet of an anti-monarchy quote by 18th-century French philosopher Denis Diderot.
Rukchanok was sentenced to three years on each count under Article 112 of the Criminal Code which protects the monarchy. She was also convicted under the Computer Crime Act, whose broad provisions covering online activities have been criticized as a threat to freedom of expression.
She has appealed the sentence and applied for bail. If denied, she would lose her lawmaker status.
Rukchanok has denied she posted the tweets, calling the case against her “weak.”
The plaintiff reportedly provided screenshots of the posts, but the police could not find the links.
Rukchanok, 29, won a seat in May’s general election, part of a shock victory for the progressive Move Forward Party that shook Thai politics. The win did not translate into power due to the party being ultimately out-maneuvered by powerful conservative forces.
She was initially a defender of the conservative establishment before switching sides and joining the Move Forward Party.
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