Thailand jails activist over royal motorcade live streaming

A Thai court has sentenced a 25-year-old activist to two years in prison for violating the country’s strict royal insult law, a rights group said, with her lawyer on Tuesday vowing to appeal.

A criminal court convicted Tantawan Tuatulanon on Monday over a live streaming she aired near a royal motorcade in March 2022, legal advocacy group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) said in a statement.

The court found Tantawan intended to defame Thailand’s highly revered monarchy when she questioned the conduct of police who dispersed farmers protesting along the route of King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s motorcade in the capital, Bangkok.

The court said she had insulted the monarchy on multiple occasions, showing her conduct was “not a good-faith exercise of rights”, the group said.

Tantawan denied charges of breaching Thailand’s strict lese-majeste law.

Her lawyer Khumklao Songsomboon said that she would file an appeal, insisting on her client’s innocence.

“This is simply an exercise of freedom of speech questioning the police’s work and right to assembly,” said Khumklao.