Thai lèse-majesté cases have surged since coup, Amnesty says
14 Thais charged with lèse-majesté since army coup in May, Amnesty says
An "unprecedented" number of people have been charged with insulting Thailand's monarchy since the coup, Amnesty International said yesterday, with 14 Thais indicted under the controversial lèse-majesté law in less than four months.
Revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 86, is protected by one of the world's toughest royal defamation laws - anyone convicted of insulting the king, queen, heir or regent faces up to 15 years in prison on each count.
"An unprecedented number of people have been charged with lèse-majesté offences ... with 14 charges or prosecutions initiated since the coup," Amnesty said in a report about rights since the military takeover on May 22.
The rights group said commentators calling for reform of the law or those previously jailed for royal defamation "appear to have been targeted" in the lists of people the junta required to report to them after seizing power.
In another recent case, a 28-year-old musician was sentenced to 15 years in jail for writing insulting Facebook posts about the monarchy between 2010 and 2011.
Junta spokesman Winthai Suvaree denied there had been an increase in royal defamation charges under his regime.
"They are old cases ... but probably there have been some arrests during this time," he said, adding there had been no human rights violations under the junta.
Amnesty says more than 570 people were officially ordered to report to authorities in the days after the coup, and estimated the number would be higher if informal orders were recorded.
In his weekly televised speeches, junta chief and recently appointed Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has reiterated the importance of the royal defamation legislation.
"The laws are aimed at protecting the royal institution. Thailand's strength is based in the institution of the monarchy and stability," he said last Friday.
Some experts believe that a struggle is unfolding to decide who will run Thailand's government when the more than six-decade reign of the ailing king eventually ends. The succession is a taboo topic in the country and its discussion is restricted under the royal defamation law.
Critics say that law has been politicised, noting that many of those charged in recent years were linked to the "red shirts" protest movement, which is broadly supportive of fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
