Appeal Court sentences Anon Nampa to prison for criticizing royal defamation law
The Appeal Court on 12 November sentenced human rights lawyer Anon Nampa to 4 years in prison on royal defamation and computer crimes charges for 3 Facebook posts which called for monarchy reform and criticized the use of the royal defamation law against critics of the monarchy.
Two of the posts, made on 1 January 2021, say that the royal defamation law should not be used to silence critics of the monarchy and that people should be able to talk about the monarchy when it comes to public matters even if they do not praise it. One of the posts also asks how losing faith in the monarchy could be an offense and if people are required to believe in the monarchy even if its members do not behave appropriately.
The third post, on 3 January 2021, criticized royalist groups for trying to silence dissidents when questions are raised about the monarchy. Anon wrote that royalists are refusing to see the problem when the problem is caused by the monarchy , such as lavish spending of the government’s money. He also asked if people would find it acceptable if the Prime Minister or other government official relocated to Germany and flew back and forth between Thailand and Germany with an entourage.
The complaint against Anon was filed by Nangnoi Assawakittikorn, a former member of the royalist group Thailand Help Centre for Cyberbullying Victims. Anon was later charged and indicted for royal defamation and violation of the Computer Crimes Act.
The Criminal Court on 17 January 2024 found Anon guilty and sentenced him to 4 years in prison. He subsequently filed an appeal.
Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported that the Appeal Court upheld the January 2024 verdict of the Criminal Court. It ruled that although he referred to the monarchy in most of his posts, one post mentioned the King. The court took it to mean that Anon accused King Vajiralongkorn of acting undemocratically, taking state property for himself, and being irresponsible with his money, and ruled that the post was defamatory. It also noted that the King is not an ordinary person, and is therefore entitled to greater legal protection; Anon’s offence cannot be considered using the same definitions as normal criminal defamation law.
Anon is currently facing a cumulative prison sentence of around 34 years and 5 months. He is in the process of appealing all of his charges.
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